


Imaginary Friends

by RoseyR



Category: South Park
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Never Met, Character Death, Childhood Trauma, Craig can see ghosts, Craig is into fashion, Death, Developing Relationship, Existential Crisis, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Tweek, Growing Up, Haunted Houses, Haunting, Imaginary Friends, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Murder, Murder Mystery, Mystery, Paranormal, Spirits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-10-10 15:34:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 28,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17428673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseyR/pseuds/RoseyR
Summary: At first, it was cute, then it became a bit strange, now it became worrying. Craig's mother wasn't sure what to do about her eldest son, not when he keeps talking to his imaginary friends. Craig's mother wondered if there was something wrong with Craig.In the meantime, Craig was busy talking to his friends, they weren't imaginary, but they also weren't alive either.





	Imaginary Friends

"Tell me the story again."

"Again? I've told you that story ten times already, my dear. You sure you want to hear it again?"

"Please? I really like it."

"Well...alright, listen closely young one," the old woman cleared her throat as she straighten up in her rocking chair. The young boy laid on his stomach and stared at the old woman, waiting for her to start. "There once was an apartment building where an young woman lived. She use to live in a farm with her parents, but after getting her job in the city, she knew she wanted to have a city life. The woman enjoyed her first week in the city, buying many things such as clothing and yummy foods. Her parents would call for her to visit, but the woman didn't want to go back to the country, too absorbed in her city life. As time went on, the woman married and had kids of her own. The woman was quite happy with her life, but she still didn't visit her parents in the country side. One day...her kids wanted to see their grandparents, so the woman finally did go back to the country side to see her parents, along with her family. Things went perfectly well at first...but when the woman's parents suggested that the woman should come back and raise her children in the country, the woman burst out in anger. She yelled at them, telling them off that they have no right to tell her how to raise her children. She and her family soon left, and the woman never spoke to her parents again. Years went by...and the woman grew old. Her children have moved away, her husband had passed, she was all alone in the apartment she lived in. So when she collapsed in that apartment, getting ready to pass away, there was one thing she regretted the most in her life."

"What?" The young boy said, staring at the old woman intently.

"....She regretted that she never rekindled with her parents. She regretted that she spent the rest of her life hating her own parents...when really...all they tried to do was look out for her. All they wanted...was to see their daughter again...."

".....Then what happened?"

"...The woman passed away..she was only eighty two. Even if her parents died a long time ago...she never forgave herself for fighting with her parents. Now all she could do was wish to see her parents one last time and tell them...tell them that she was sorry," the old woman said.

"....That story gets sadder and sadder every time I hear it," the young boy said.

"Yes, doesn't it?" the old woman smiled at the young boy before rocking in her chair. "Shall I tell you another story? One that's a bit more...happier?"

"Okay," the young boy said.

"Alright then...this is the story of the time a little girl raised ten chickens all on her own and how she was overrun by eggs!"

"Craig! There you are, what on earth are you doing young man?" A woman with blonde hair enters the living room and was surprised to see her five year old son laying on the ground.

"Nothing...just talking to Martha," Craig said.

"Martha? Who's Martha?" Craig's mother asked.

"Her," Craig pointed at the old woman sitting on the rocking chair. However, when Craig's mother stared at where her son was pointing, all she could see was an empty chair.

"...Oh...I get it now," Mrs. Tucker smiled. She suddenly crouched down and looked at the chair, "nice to meet you, Martha. How are you dear?"

"...Craig, what on earth is your mother doing. Doesn't she know it's very rude to stare at someone's breasts?"

Craig was confused himself, wondering why his mother was staring at Martha's chest like that. "What are you doing? Why are you staring at Martha's chest?"

"W-what?" Craig's mother blushed before straightening up. "Um...right...uh...well Craig, tell Martha that you can play with her later. You need to clean up the toys in your room then come and have lunch."

"Can't I do it later? Martha was going to tell me another story," Craig said.

"Now young man, you can play with your imaginary friend later," Craig's mother said.

Craig looked over at Martha, hoping she could help him out, "best do what your mother tell you, dear," Martha said.

"...Fine..." Craig sighed as he followed his mom, "I'll talk to you later, Martha."

"See you later, kid," Martha smiled before vanishing.

"...Martha...Martha...I could have sworn that was the same name of the old woman who use to live in this apartment ten years ago," Craig's mother said.

"...." Craig didn't say anything, he simply did as his mother said. He could only wish for time go move faster for he wanted to talk to Martha again soon.

Later that night as Craig got ready for bed, he suddenly hear his parents talking in the other room, but didn't pay much attention, that is, until he heard them saying something about moving.

"You called the movers?"

"Yeah yeah, they'll be here to pick up our stuff next week. You tell Craig yet?"

"No, not yet. I'll tell him tomorrow."

"...You sure you want us to move? This place is nice...and rent is cheap too."

"Oh Thomas, this place isn't fit for raising a child, especially when our new baby girl is on the way. I want to raise Craig and our baby in a house, not an apartment."

"I hear you...oh well....his place does seem to have bad wiring once in awhile...and for some reason...it get incredibly cold once in awhile."

"The sooner we move, the better."

"...." Craig laid in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He was going to move, he was going to leave this place, he was never going to see Martha again. "...Martha...you there?" Craig called out.

The old woman appeared in front of Craig, she sat on Craig's bed as she stared at him. Though she was smiling, Craig can tell that the old woman was sad.

"Guess you're going to be leaving this place soon, kid...too bad...I really like talking to you...even if you're not much of a talker," Martha laughed.

"...You going to be okay on your own?" Craig asked.

"Oh please, I've been on my own before you and your family moved here. I can handle it...though...it's going to be a bit sad not having someone to talk to anymore. I highly doubt the next people to move here are going to notice me," Martha sighed.

"....Martha...I think it's time for you to move on," Craig said.

"....What are you talking about, dear?" Martha said.

"I know it's hard...you've told me many times in your stories...but...I don't think your mommy and daddy wants you to stay here anymore...I think they want to see you up in heaven now," Craig said.

"....How would you know?"

"....Well...whenever I fight with my mommy and daddy, we never stay angry for long, but when we do get angry, it would last for days...but in the end...we still love each other...and they still care for me...and my mom once told me that in the end...families fight...but that doesn't mean they stop loving each other," Craig said. "So with that in mind...I'm sure your mommy and daddy forgive you...and want you to move on."

"...But what if...what if I don't see them? What if I'm still going to be all alone wherever I end up in?" Martha asked. Her voice started to waver a bit.

"....Whatever happens...at least you'll know that your parents forgive you," Craig said.

"....Heh...for a five year old kid...you sure are one smart cookie," Martha said. "...Alright...I guess this old girl shall be leaving," Martha said.

"Leaving as in...you're finally moving on or...you're just leaving?"

"What do you think, smart guy?" Martha smiled.

"...I'm going to miss you, Martha," Craig said.

"Me too," Martha smiled, "it's a shame I won't be able to tell you my other stories now," Martha sighed.

"To be honest....most of them were pretty boring," Craig said.

"How rude young man," Martha giggled, "but not going to lie...they were meant to be boring just to see if you were listening or not."

Craig smiled, "goodbye Martha. Have fun with...whatever happens next for you."

"Thank you," Martha smiled. She closed her eyes and her body started to glow white. Craig watched as her body faded until she was gone for good.

"...." Craig stared at the spot where Martha was before he laid back in his bed. Craig then turned off his lamp as he closed his eyes and got ready to sleep. He didn't realize that he started to cry until he felt how wet his pillow was.

* * *

Craig Tucker was very strange, at least that's what everyone says about him. Whenever anyone sees him talking, he wasn't talking to a person or even an animal, he was talking to thin air. Some would say that talking to yourself is somewhat normal and nothing to worry about, but for Craig Tucker, whenever he talks, it seems like he's having a full on conversation.

"Laura...is your son alright? He's been staring at that empty swing."

"Oh it's just his imagination, it's fine," Mrs. Tucker said as she cradled her one month old baby.

"I guess...but you said your son is six, right? Aren't kids his age suppose to stop having imaginary friends around that age?"

"....Right..." Mrs. Tucker stared at her son as she watched him sitting on one swing and staring at the empty swing. 

She became worried when her son told another child to not sit on the empty swing.

It's already been a year since the Tucker family moved to South Park, it was a small, mountain town in Colorado. It was different from the city in Denver, but somewhat cozy. Craig's younger sister was born a three months since the moved in, and the family have already settled in their new home. However, the one thing that didn't feel right for the Tuckers, specifically Mr. and Mrs. Tucker, was the fact that their son continued to talk to his imaginary friends.

"I don't know doctor...it's just...it's strange, isn't it? He's already six and he'll be seven really soon. I'm worried that he won't be able to make friends if he continues to act like this," Mrs. Tucker said as she looked out of the door, knowing her son was sitting outside the doctor's office.

"It's fine, Mrs. Tucker. It's still quite normal for a boy Craig's age to still have imaginary friends. In fact, studies show that six to seven year old children still have imaginary friends. He'll grow out of it later when he turns seven or eight. Just be patient," the doctor said.

"I don't know doc...whenever my son is talking to his so-called friends...it never feels like he's talking to one person...it's as if he's talking to different people each time..."

"That just shows how creative your son can be, Mrs. Tucker. No need to worry."

"Um...excuse me...doctor...but do you have something to help with vomiting?" Craig came into the office, a worried look was planted on his face.

"Oh Craig, you not feeling well, baby?" Mrs. Tucker walked over towards her son and placed the back of her hand on her son's forehead.

"It's not for me, it's for Sally," Craig said.

"...Sally? Who's Sally?"

"The girl who's vomiting right next to me. She told me she once choked on her own vomit and lost consciousness for awhile. I'm worried she's going to choke again with how much she's throwing up right now," Craig said as he stared at the girl standing next to him.

'B-blegh..." The girl threw up all over the floor and Craig had to take a step away from her to avoid getting her vomit all over his shoes. "I'm fine now," the girl said.

"You sure?" Craig asked.

"Yeah...just need to get that out of my system...but I'm fine," the girl said, wiping her mouth.

"Okay....but I still think you need to take some medicine for that," Craig said.

"...." The two adults could do nothing but stare at the young boy who was talking to no one.

Mrs. Tucker wasn't just worried about her son talking to his imaginary friends, it was more of how he acted. Sometimes his son would be aggressive towards kids and making it impossible for him to make friends, sometimes it would be how his son would do certain things that was very strange to her.

"Craig, what are you doing with that houseplant?" Mrs. Tucker asked.

"Madam Rouge said these flowers should be placed in the bathroom. Something about...feng shui...whatever that means," Craig said and resumed taking the houseplant to the bathroom.

"...Thomas...I'm really worried," Mrs. Tucker said.

"...Well you gotta admit, the house does feel like it has more of a feng shui feel," Mr. Tucker said.

"Not helping," Mrs. Tucker sighed and resumed watching over her son as he continued to move furniture around.

What really made Mrs. Tucker worry the most is when Craig actually shows fear on his face. Not from spiders, scary shadows, or even the darkness in his closet. What Mrs. Tucker was confused and worried about was when his son says that one of his imaginary friends were scary.

"Mom...can I sleep with you and dad tonight?" Craig asked.

"What's wrong, honey? You told us you were too old to be sleeping with us," Mrs. Tucker said.

"I know...but I really don't like Sam," Craig said.

"Sam?"

"Yeah, Sam is really scary," Craig said as he climbs into his parents bed and laid between them.

"Why is...Sam scary, Craig?" Mrs. Tucker as she gently pushed his bangs out of his face.

"Because he's missing his jaw, there's an ax lodged into his head, he's missing an eye, and he keeps staring at me in my sleep. I keep telling him to go away, but he doesn't listen and just stares at me all night," Craig said.

"..." Mrs. Tucker wasn't sure what to say. She simply stared at her son in horror.

"...Sam! Go away! You're not allowed here!" Craig suddenly exclaimed as he stared at the door. Craig sat up and continued to yell, causing his father to wake up and stare at him. "I said go away! Go away! Go away! Go away!" Craig screamed and screamed, becoming genuinely upset.

"Craig..."

"Go away! Go away! Go away!" Craig continued shouting, even hitting the bed, something he did when he was really upset. "Go away!"

"Thomas..." Mrs. Tucker looked at her husband, tears filled her eyes as she continues to worry about her son.

"We'll take him to see a therapist tomorrow, Laura, don't worry," Mr. Tucker said as he held his wife and watched as their son continued to yell at no one.

Even when Craig went to see ever therapist that his parents could afford to get, none of them knew what was wrong with Craig. There were guesses, but there weren't any definite evidence.

In the end, Craig was force to take some medication, but even that didn't work.

"No!" Craig closed his eyes and mouth, trying to stop the pill from going into his mouth. "It taste weird and makes me feel weird!" Craig exclaimed.

"It's for your own good, Craig," Mrs. Tucker finally managed to shove the pill into her son's mouth and quickly poured water into his mouth as well. Before Craig could spit the pill out, Mrs. Tucker quickly closed his mouth and held him tightly so he would try to escape. "You either swallow that pill or we're staying here for a long time, your choice young man!"

"...." Craig looked down, getting very upset that he's force to take this disgusting pill everyday. He didn't even understand why he has to take it, it's not like he was sick.

"Come on Craig, you need to swallow it. You mother just wants you to feel better," when Craig looked up, he saw one of his friends talking to him. His friend was a very lean woman, very skinny. She had cuts on her wrists, but the one thing that was more noticeable was the rope tied around her neck. "Just get it over with...and it'll be all over."

"...." Craig looked down, he guess he might as well get it over with. Craig swallowed the pill and water. He nearly gagged at the bitter flavor of the pill. "There, I swallowed it. Can I go now?" Craig frowned, still very upset with his mother.

"Yes you may. Thank you," Mrs. Tucker sighed as she released her son.

Craig stepped away from his mother, he didn't particularly like her at that moment. "You're mean."

"...I'm just trying to help you, Craig...a boy your age shouldn't be having imaginary friends," Mrs. Tucker said.

"They are not imaginary! They're real!" Craig exclaimed.

"Well if I can't see them, that means they're imaginary," Mrs. Tucker.

"Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they aren't real," Craig sighed. He turned around and headed towards his room as his mother watch him leave.

"Don't be upset with your mother...you'll end up regretting it one day. I know I did," the woman with the noose around her neck said.

"....Please stop talking to me...I don't feel good," Craig sighed, feeling the effects of the pill taking over already. Once in his room, Craig laid on his bed, feeling his head pounding, his stomach hurting, and his ears slightly ringing. Craig remained motionless on his bed, not having the energy to move. Whatever was in that pill, it didn't feel like it was helping Craig feel better, if anything, it was making Craig feel sick. "....What do you want...Sam?" Craig groaned when he turned his head to stare at the scary ghost that lives in his closet.

"....."

"Tch...I'm too tired to even be scared of you, Sam..." Craig sighed, his eyes getting heavy.

"...."

"....Whatever happened to you...happened...but that doesn't mean you should get angry forever...it's pretty pointless. Just move on already," Craig sighed as he closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep.

"....." Sam walked over towards the sleeping boy and placed his hand on his head. He gently stroke the boy's head until Craig finally woke up. Sam never showed himself to Craig at night anymore, finally allowing Craig to have a peaceful sleep.

School was also an issue that Mrs. Tucker worried about. So far, Mrs. Tucker has noticed that none of the other kids wanted to play with her son whenever she comes to pick him up. She noticed how her son would either sit on a bench by himself, or sit in the corner of the room, once again talking to his imaginary friends.

She couldn't take it anymore.

"Laura..."

"I just can't...Thomas...I don't know what's wrong with him...I'm just so worried..." Mrs. Tucker sobbed as her husband tries to comfort her.

"It's okay, honey. It's fine...Craig will get better soon, trust me..."

"What if he doesn't? What if he never gets better!" Mrs. Tucker cried.

"Shhh....it's okay...it's okay..."

"...." Craig watched as his mother cried in the other room. He made sure his parents didn't see him as he walked back upstairs and headed towards his room. When he was back in the safety of his room, he noticed that all of his friends were there.

"How'd it go kid?" Maya, the ghost with the noose around her neck, asked.

"Give us the juice gossip, darling!" Madam Rouge asked.

"...She's crying," Craig sighed as he sat on his bed and laid down.

Maya sighed, "of course she's crying...she's worried about you, Craig." Maya sighed.

"I would start if I knew my child started seeing things that no one else sees...luckily for me, I never had children before I died."

"Rouge, stop making this about yourself," Maya sighed.

"I'm just saying. Craig, if you ever decide to have kids...don't...they are too much of a hassle!" Madam Rouge said.

"Rouge! Don't say that, he's just a kid!"

"Well I don't see you coming up with anything little miss cuts herself."

"A-ah! I...I can't believe you said that! I was going through a tough time when I was alive, okay! You have no idea what I went through!"

"Oh sob sob sob...we heard it all before, darling. But guess what, you're not the only one suffering on this dreadful world we live in. I was suppose to be a star...but then my agent/boyfriend dumped me! Oh....the dread...the dread! I ended up taking my own life with all those sleeping pills! Oh damn it all!"

"Aren't you being a bit overly dramatic Ms. Drama Queen? So what if your boyfriend dumped you and stopped getting you gigs. That's why you should never have your agent be your boyfriend...or have your boyfriend be your agent! Too messy!"

"Well excuse me for being in love!"

The two women continued to argue as Craig watched them. At times, he feels sorry for the two and how they ended up like this, but at the same time, he couldn't help but be annoyed by their quarrels.

"Enough..." A low voice sent chills down all three of their spine, it was normal for Craig to feel that, but he wasn't sure how the two women could feel it when they don't even feel anymore. "Not...helping...."

"We...we apologize, Sam...this is about Craig...not us," Maya said.

"Apologies darling...you are the one that's suffering right now," Madam Rouge said.

"....It's fine...but I wish I knew what to do," Craig said.

"...Stop...worrying...mother," Sam said.

"How?" Craig asked as he stared at the scary looking man. After living in the house with these three for almost three years now, Craig has grown use to them, especially Sam now that the scary looking man has stopped staring at him in his sleep.

"Stop....eyes...look..."

"...What?" Craig sat up, confused.

"...I think...I think what Sam is trying to say, kid...is that...you need to stop talking to us...and stop seeing guys like us," Maya said.

"What? Why?"

"Look darling, ever heard of the expression 'believe till you see it?'"

"Yeah..."

"Well darling...if your mother can't see us...she doesn't believe we exist. She'll just continue thinking there is something wrong with you dear...and who knows how long it'll be till she snaps and...send you somewhere...not so pleasant," Madam Rouge said.

"Huh?"

"What she means kid is that...you need to let us go...you need to pretend we don't exist..."

"All of you guys?"

"...Not just us...but people like us. The world isn't suppose to know we exist, Craig. We once did...but we don't anymore."

"It is time...for us to get off the stage," Madam Rouge said.

"We...leave..now..."

"....You're leaving?"

Maya sighed before sitting next to Craig. "You're a sweet kid...a bit of a...punk...but a sweet kid. All my life I thought I'd never make friends...but meeting you...and somehow getting close to those two...I learned that..I finally have real friends...no matter how scary or annoying they can be."

"Hmph!" Madam Rouge turned her head away from the girl.

"...Even if you're finally made friends after you died?" Craig asked.

Maya smiled, "friends come from anywhere and everywhere...so I guess you can even make friends in the afterlife...so when it's your time...just know you're not alone," Maya said. Her body started to glow, similar to Martha in the old apartment that Craig use to live. "Thanks for everything, kid...it was nice talking to you," Maya said as she started to fade.

"...I'm going to miss you," Craig said.

"Us too....but we'll always watch over you," Maya's word echoed as she disappeared.

"Hmph...and she said I was the drama queen," Madam Rouge said as she started glowing herself. "It's been a swell time, darling. Hope to see you again in the future...but not too soon of course. I would love to see what you look like when you're a full grown man after all."

"Goodbye, Madam Rouge," Craig bowed his head in the way that Madam Rouge instructed him to do the first time he met her.

"You'll make an excellent young man, darling," Madam Rouge started to fade before she disappeared herself.

It was now just Craig and Sam. Sam stared at Craig, Craig couldn't tell what his expression was, but he didn't feel scared.

"...Sorry for always yelling at you...and for getting upset whenever you showed up."

"I...am...scary...no...worries," Sam said.

"...You never told me what happened to you....mind telling me now before you go?" Craig asked.

"...." Sam looked at Craig, it looked like his eyes were smiling. "I did...a bad thing...I hurt...so many people...in the end...they came and killed me," Sam said.

"...Why did you hurt people?"

"...I lost...my child," Sam closed his, a single tear fell, "I...was heartbroken..." Sam started to glow and faded away. He disappeared. Craig will never see him again.

"...." Craig laid on his bed, ready to sleep. He started to cry, already missing the three.

It's been three weeks since that night. As promised, Craig stopped talking to people like Maya, Madam Rouge, Sam, and Martha. Whenever he sees one walking by, staring at him, he would ignore them and keep walking past them. Whenever one of his old friends came to talk to him, he would quickly tell them he can't and walk away, hoping they got the hint.

His mother was happy to see his son no longer talking to his imaginary friends, but still worried for him since he still doesn't have any real friends to talk to. She thought of setting up a play date for her son, but considering how the other mothers were still a bit unsure about Craig, she knew it would be impossible.

So while she was watching her son play at the park, she was surprised when a young boy walked over towards Craig and started to talk to him.

"Hey...you're that kid who can see the dead, right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Craig said defensively as he looked between the boy and his mother. "I see nothing," Craig said. "They're just my imaginary friends," Craig said.

"Oh...that's too bad, I was hoping you could talk to my mom!" The little boy said.

"...Your mom?" Craig asked.

"Yeah...my mom died a long time ago...it's just me and my dad...but I was hoping you would...I don't know..tell me if she was still around or something?"

"...Why? Why do you want me to do that?" Craig asked.

"Because I thought you see ghosts!"

"They're not ghosts...they're just my imaginary friends," Craig said, wishing the boy would keep his voice down.

"Imaginary friend or not, I really miss my mom. Can't you...talk to her...at least tell me if she's there or not? Please?"

"...." Craig stared at the boy then at his mother. Sighing, Craig stood up from the bench he was sitting on, "come on, let's go somewhere private," Craig said.

The little boy smiled as he followed Craig. The two stood behind the slide where Craig's mother could barely see him and can't really hear him.

"So...is my mom here?" The little boy asked.

Craig stared at the boy looking at the spot next to the boy. "She's right there." Craig said.

"Huh?" The little boy turned his head and stared to his right. "She's...right there?"

"...Yeah...she's said she'll always be there for you...she's always close by. She said...you need to stop feeding your vegetables to the dog...put the toilet seat down, and...wash your hands after using the toilet," Craig stared at the woman besides the boy before looking at the boy, specifically his hands. "...She also says...she loves you...and that it's okay to cry."

The little boy stared at Craig then at the spot next to him. "I love you too, mommy," the boy said as he started to cry.

"....She's smiling," Craig said.

The little boy smiled back, he wanted to hug his mom, but knew that would be impossible, so instead, he walked over towards Craig and hugged him. "Thank you!"

"....You're welcome," Craig said as he patted the boy's back, but kinda wishing the boy got his hands off of him since he knows that the little boy didn't wash his hands. "She said she'll be waiting for you at home. She's leaving now," Craig said.

The little boy wiped his eyes before smiling at Craig. "I'm Clyde by the way," Clyde said.

"...Craig..."

Clyde smiled as he grabbed hold of Craig's hand. Craig grimaced in disgust. "Come on! Let's play on the swings!" Clyde said.

"....You want to play with me?"

"Yeah, you seem cool. Let's go!" Clyde pulled on Craig's hand, forcing the boy to come along with him.

Once the two were at the swings, Clyde immediately started swinging and trying to go as high as he could, while Craig sat there and watched him for a bit before swinging himself. After a bit, the two started to laugh and compete with each other to see who could swing the highest. For once, Craig actually enjoyed playing with someone who wasn't a ghost.

Mrs. Tucker watched her son play with the little boy, looking happy and actually enjoying himself. Mrs. Tucker couldn't help but smile and cry softly to herself as she watched her son making his first friend.

For once, she felt relieved.

* * *

Since that fateful day, Craig and Clyde were the best of friends, and the two continue to be friends as they grew up together. They would go to each other's houses for sleepovers or to play video games, they went through puberty together and tried to comfort each other when their bodies started to become awkward, they would play pranks on the other kids, and they would go out and do many fun things together.

However, the one thing that they would do all the time was look for ghosts.

It was Clyde who suggested the idea ever since Craig told him that his mother has finally moved on now that Clyde doesn't need her anymore, however, Craig wasn't really up for the idea at first.

"No way, dude. I promised my mom I would stop talking to ghosts," Craig sighed.

"No, you said you promised to stop talking to imaginary friends. Huge difference," Clyde said.

"Even so, I don't want to worry my mom," Craig said.

"Come on, it'll be fun. Think of all the attention we'll get, the money, the fame...the chicks," Clyde said.

"One, never say chicks in front of me like that again, and two, I ain't using my abilities just because you want to," Craig sighed and resumed looking at his phone. He was really invested in this article about clothes and style for some reason, he wasn't sure why.

"Please..."

"No," Craig frowned.

"Please?"

"I said no, so stop asking," Craig sighed.

"Craig...please?" Clyde stared at his with his signature puppy dog eye, something that he knew that Craig wouldn't be able to ignore.

"Oh gross, stop with that face, it's gross," Craig said as he pushed Clyde's face away from him.

"Craig!" Clyde pouted his lips, only making him look uglier.

"Dude!" Craig groaned as he flipped the boy off.

"Please?"

"...Okay fine! Just stop with that face, it's really gross," Craig sighed.

"Yes! We're going to be rich my friend," Clyde smiled.

"Yippee," Craig rolled his eyes as he continued to read the article on his phone.

From then on, the two would go around town, searching for ghosts and seeing if they can help them move on. The two would even go door-to-door and to get paid for helping with any ghost infested houses. Most of the houses they went to just got annoyed with the two and slammed the door at their face, but their one successful job was when they visited the Marsh house.

"So you said there's a ghost in the basement, Mr. Marsh?" Clyde asked.

"That's right, been hearing a lot of noise coming down there," Mr. Marsh said, "it's a good thing you boys came by, I wouldn't know what to do," Mr. Marsh said.

"Well if we see the ghost and get rid of it, you better pay us twenty bucks each," Clyde said.

"What!? I thought it was ten!"

"Twenty," Craig said.

"Ten!"

"Twenty. If you don't pay up, we can always leave and you can hire more expensive ghost hunters," Craig said.

"Oh fine, twenty. Damn kids and their high prices to exterminate ghosts," Mr. Marsh pouted.

"Dad...you can't be serious right now," Stan, a boy that goes to school with Clyde and Craig, said as he stared at his father in annoyance. "Like seriously? It's just the crappy plumbing, that's all," Stan sighed.

"Not now Stan, go to your room where it's safe, wouldn't want you getting hurt," Mr. Marsh said.

"God damn it dad," Stan sighed. Craig almost feel sorry for Stan, but at the same time, he kinda loved seeing the kid getting annoyed.

"Alright, let's go down there," Clyde said.

"Alright," Craig said.

Clyde opened the door to the basement but froze. "...um...why don't you go in there on your own since you're the one with the gift and all?" Clyde said.

"...Seriously?" Craig sighed in annoyance.

"It's really dark in there!" Clyde whined.

"Baby," Craig sighed as he headed downstairs and looked around. The first thing he saw was an elderly woman who was rattling the pipes and giggling to herself. "Um...excuse me..but are you the one that's been haunting the Marsh family?" Craig asked.

"Haunting? More like pranking the snot out of my great great great great great grandson," the woman said.

"Wait...you're Mrs. Marsh's great great great great great grandmother?" Craig asked.

"That's right sonny boy, and I gotta tell you, scaring the crap out of that grandson of mine is the most fun I had in years!" The grandmother chuckled.

"Okay...well mind stopping and moving on?"

"Moving on!? Hell no! I'm having way too much fun here!" The old woman said.

"Hm..." Craig thought and thought. He has met ghosts that didn't want to leave and were really hard to persuade, but maybe he could think of a compromise with this ghost, especially since he wanted that twenty bucks. "Well...instead of pranking Mr. Marsh...why not scare his son?"

"Eh? Son?"

"Yeah, that Stan kid, much younger and doesn't believe in ghosts. I bet you'll have more fun if you scare him, and since he's younger, you'll get to mess with him for a long time, maybe even get to mess with his future kid if he gets one," Craig said.

"Hm...I like the way you think chullo boy," the old woman smirked.

"Great, just stop messing with Mr. Marsh and just go after his son," Craig said.

"You got yourself a deal, sonny boy," the old woman crackled as she disappeared.

Craig sighed and headed back upstairs. Once back up, he saw Clyde, Mr. Marsh, and Stan were waiting for him.

"Well? You got rid of it?" Mr. Marsh asked.

"Sorta...let's just say it won't bug you ever again," Craig said.

"Way to go, Craig!" Clyde grinned.

"Whatever dude, you're just exploiting my dad's fear just to get a quick buck," Stan sighed as he headed upstairs.

"...Dick," Craig muttered.

"Well here you go, twenty bucks for both of you," Mr. Marsh said as he took out two twenty bucks and handed them to the boys.

"Thanks Mr. Marsh," Clyde said as he takes his twenty.

"Yeah, thanks," Craig said.

The two boys left the house and stood in the front, staring at the twenty bucks they earned.

"Success!" Clyde grinned.

"Yeah, a bit troublesome though," Craig sighed as he pocketed his twenty dollars.

"Hey...how did you get rid of that ghost anyways?"

"Oh I didn't get rid of it, I just made a compromise," Craig smirked.

"Compromised?"

As if on cue, a crashing sound came from the second floor, causing the two boys to look up. They suddenly hear Stan screaming and calling for his dad to help him.

"...You didn't," Clyde stared at Craig in shock.

"...Come on, let's go get some ice cream," Craig said.

The two quickly left he Marsh's place as Stan continued to cry like a baby as the ghost continued to scare the living hell out of him.

Craig and Clyde continued their ghost hunting adventures since that first successful job, and with Mr. Marsh freely advertising their business to other people, the two were offered more jobs. However, the one thing that Craig was worried about is his parents knowing about this.

"Don't worry dude, as long as you talk to the ghosts, I'll convince the customers to not tell our parents."

"How will you convince them not to?" Craig asked.

"Easy, everyone listens when I give them my killer puppy dog eyes," Clyde said.

"...." Craig realized that Clyde's disgusting face was enough to keep people's lips shut. He was so glad that Clyde learned how to control his puppy dog eyes.

The two became very successful in a matter of weeks. They got a lot of prays and attention from people, and their small business even grew. They even got more people to join them.

The first to join their ghost hunting business was Token Black. At first, Token didn't believe the two and thought they were stupid, but when his father hired them to get rid of a ghost in their mansion and Token actually saw the ghost activity that was happening, he became a ghost believer and joined the two. He ended up becoming the one who pays for any ghost equipment that actually seemed to work and provided them a place to set up their headquarters. Though honestly, Craig wasn't sure why they needed  ghost equipment since all he needed to do was talk to them, but Clyde would simply say it made them look official.

The next to join was the new kid, Jimmy Valmer. Jimmy became friends with Craig when the boy was helping him look around the school and showing him where everything was, but when Jimmy was being bullied by a passerby who commented on Jimmy's disabilities, Craig stepped in and called the bully out, even if it meant him getting a black eye. Luckily, Craig managed to scare the bully away when he told him that his mother was standing behind him and that she was disappointed in her son for bullying someone. The bully didn't believe it at first, but when Craig started mentioning the mother's appearance, the bully's eyes widen and he ran away in fear. Jimmy never forgot what Craig did or what he said to that bully, he soon joined Craig, Clyde, and Token in their ghost hunting business. His job was to help advertise their business as well as making sure only the correct people hear it.

Things were going well for the ghost hunting teens. They enjoyed each day finding ghosts, helping people, and getting some money out of it. For Craig, even if he found it quite annoying at first, he soon grew to appreciate it, especially when he made such great friends from it.

* * *

Craig was utterly annoyed when he found Clyde laying on the couch with a half naked girl laying on top of her. Craig just go back from buying groceries a few minutes ago and the first thing he sees when he came back to the apartment was his roommate making out with a complete stranger. How annoying.

"Oh Craig, you're back! I thought you'd be out a bit longer," Clyde said as he carefully sat up as the girl got off of him.

"To do what exactly? I told you I was getting groceries from the store a few blocks from here, and you know that doesn't take very long," Craig said.

"Yeah well...uh...I kinda was hoping you'd stay out a bit longer," Clyde said.

"..." Craig pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He was starting to regret becoming roommates with Clyde.

"Hey Craig, glad you're...dude...seriously?" Token stopped in his tracks when he realized that Clyde was half naked while the girl he was with was quickly putting her clothes back on.

"What? I thought Craig was going to be out for awhile," Clyde said.

"Then what about me!? I live here with you guys too you know," Token sighed.

"Honestly, I thought you were going to stay in your room all day," Clyde said.

"I'll um...just get out of your hair. See you later, Clyde," the girl stood up and left, walking past Craig and leaving through the door.

"M-m-madam," Jimmy was on the other side of the door and was ready to head inside when the girl opened it. He tilted his head in a gentlemanly way. The girl giggled before nodding her head and continued leaving. Once Jimmy was inside, he looked over at Clyde, "n-n-nice," Jimmy said, giving Clyde a thumbs up.

"Thanks dude," Clyde grinned.

"You two are idiots," Craig sighed as he took the bag of groceries and put them away.

"Yeah well...um...that makes you a bigger idiot for living with two idiots!" Clyde smiled.

"Oh wow...guess that's true," Craig rolled his eyes and continued putting the groceries away.

"Well if we're done with all of that, I got us a new job," Token said as he took out his phone and showed an old mansion that looked like a stereotypical haunted house.

"S-s-s-spoooooky," Jimmy said as he stared at the image of the house.

"Yep, our client is hiring us to help get rid of all the spirits that are in there so she could sell the place. Judging from how old this place is, it might take us awhile. I'm pretty sure there are thousands of ghosts in there," Token said.

"Sweet...what's the pay?" Clyde asked.

"If we get rid of all the ghosts within a week, a thousand dollars," Token said.

"T-t-thousands!?"

"Holy shit, dude! Think of how many tacos we can afford! Think of the babes we get to impress! We could even live in a mansion ourselves!" Clyde exclaimed.

"...." Craig doesn't say anything, he simply finished putting the groceries away and started making himself some coffee.

"...Craig? Thoughts?"

"...I mean..yeah....sure. Let's do it," Craig said as he pressed the buttons on the coffeemaker.

"Come on man, be more hyped! A thousand dollars!" Clyde said.

"Yeah...I get it...a thousand bucks. Cool," Craig sighed as he waited for his coffee to be ready. Once he heard the beep, he grabs a mug and poured the coffee into it.

"Y-you f-feeling f-f-fiiiinnnneee?" Jimmy asked.

"...." Craig let out a tired sigh, "it's just...aren't we getting a bit too old for this? I mean...we've been doing this since middle school...don't you think we should...stop...and focus on school?"

"I mean...why focus on school when you got the best job ever?" Clyde said.

"That's...that's not what I meant," Craig said.

"W-well d-dude, i-if this ghost hunting j-job ain't doing s-so well, Clyde still h-has his job at his f-father's shoe store, I h-have my c-c-comedy act, and Token is inheriting his f-f-father's inheritance," Jimmy said.

"No I'm not, I'm getting a bachelor's degree in medical school. I'm going to be a doctor," Token said.

"Y-yeah...b-but still," Jimmy said.

"Whatever, we all have something to fall back on if this ghost hunting business doesn't last forever. So nothing to worry about, right Craig?" Token asked.

"...Yeah...right," Craig sighed. Craig started heading towards his room.

"Where you going?"

"Surfing on the web. If you need me...don't," Craig closed the door to his room and laid on his bed. Craig took out his laptop and started looking up any interesting fashion news that were around.

Craig finally realized that he was into fashion when he started eleventh grade. He got some advise from his mom when she noticed the many fashion articles on his laptop. At first, Craig thought it was just a thing that would one day go away after awhile, but now, Craig was fully invested in knowing what's popular with both males and females, and what's the latest trends are. Craig even joined he sewing club at his high school for a year just to try it out, of course he also dragged Clyde in so it would be awkward. The two ended up having fun, but they decided to quit when too many assholes started pestering them, and hey...Craig didn't want to see his best friend cry because some asshole made fun of him. Now, Craig just enjoys looking at fashion articles, magazines, and even trying out some clothes he bought whenever he feel up to dressing up a bit.

That still didn't help settle the uneasiness he felt. He's now nineteen years old, and instead of being in college like he lied to his mother about, he was living in a four bedroom apartment that Token found for them to live in, running around, getting jobs that either Clyde, Jimmy, or Token found, searching for ghosts, and getting paid to get rid of them. Craig didn't hate it, but after awhile, he kind of gets tired. He starts to get headaches whenever he sees way too many ghosts, even gets nosebleeds if there are more than at least ten in one single room. Craig wasn't sure if there was a limit to his abilities or if one day his ability will disappear.

The only thing that made Craig feel uneasy about was the fact that he was lying to his mom. Lying about college, lying about his job, and most of all, lying to her that he doesn't see his "imaginary friends."

Craig's phone was ringing, and Craig quickly picked it up. It was from his mom. "Hey mom," Craig sighed when he answered the phone.

"Hey kiddo, how are you and the guys?" Mrs. Tucker asked.

"It's...fine. Tiresome...bothersome...really annoying, but fine," Craig said as he scrolled around, looking at a bunch of fashion tips. Most of them were very vague while the rest was completely idiotic and that he could come up with something better.

"Well that's what happens when you decide to roommate with friends...but it's comfortable, isn't it?"

"Yeah...I guess," Craig said.

"So kiddo, how's fashion school?"

Craig paled. "It's...it's great mom...learning a lot of...fashion stuff," Craig said.

"That's great. Any ideas on when you'll be graduating?"

"Oh you know...the usual four years..that's the plan," Craig gulped.

"I see, well study hard, honey. With how creative you are, I'm sure you'll be the next top fashion designer, and I do hope you'll let me become one of your first customers to wear a design you created," Mrs. Tucker laughed.

"...Yeah mom...sure," Craig said.

"Alright dear, talk to you later, and tell the guys I said hi," Mrs. Tucker said.

"Alright. Bye mom," Craig said.

"Bye, love you," Mrs. Tucker hung up and Craig stared at his phone for a bit before placing it down on his bed.

Craig felt extremely guilty now. Craig wish he could just tell his mom that he dropped out of fashion school on the first month, mostly because he didn't feel like he belonged when he attended. He wish he could just tell his mom what he was really doing, that he was going after ghosts with his friends, that he was...still seeing his "imaginary friends."

Craig hated himself for lying to his mom for the past couple of years now, but what was he suppose to do? If he told the truth, his mom would cry again, if he stopped everything he's been doing, he might disappoint the guys. If Craig goes back to school, his life would be miserable.

No matter what Craig picked, it would only end in heartbreak and disappointment.

"Ugh..." Craig sighed as he continued scrolling around until an ad popped up in front of him. Craig groaned in annoyance and was about to click out of the add, but stopped when he noticed what the ad said that if he invested his money now, his future business will become the next thing people talk about. "...That's it!"

Craig got up from his bed and ran back into the living room. He surprised everyone when he slammed he door open and started running towards them.

"W-woah, w-where the f-f-f-fire?" Jimmy asked.

"Token...did you say that lady who's trying to sell that mansion will pay us a thousand dollars?" Craig asked.

"Um...yeah?"

"Thousand dollars...split that up between the four of us...that's two hundred and fifty dollars..plus the money I saved up...yeah! This is going to work!"

"Woah...what's going to work?" Clyde asked, confused.

"Look, you guys know I've been lying to my mom about school and our job, right?"

"Yeah?" Token said.

"And you also know that my mom still thinks I'm doing something involving fashion, right?"

"U-uh huh..."

"Well...if we do this one job, get that thousand dollars, I might be able to use that money to help me start my fashion business!"

"Whoa...are you serious?" Clyde asked.

"More than anything. Even if I'm still lying to my mom about this whole ghost hunting business, at least I'll feel more at ease if I can at least start a fashion business."

"Yeah but...if you're busy with your fashion stuff, what about the ghost hunting business?" Clyde asked.

"Clyde...let's face it, this job ain't paying the bills that well, we can't rely on Token's fortune forever," Craig said.

"Okay...is it me or are you guys focusing way too much on how much money I have?"

"You are the rich friend here, Toke," Clyde said.

"Screw you guys," Token glared.

"Look Clyde, we can keep doing the ghost hunting stuff any other day...but I think it's time we grow up and start working real jobs, not jobs that we hope someone will take serious instead of leaving comments on our web page and telling us we are a bunch of cunts," Craig said.

"....I guess dad has been wanting me to open a shoe store around here...and...girls do like shoes way more than guys who hunt ghosts..."

"Exactly. You'll get way more chicks if we do this," Craig said.

"....Alright. We'll do this job, get the money, help you set up your fashion business, and live like normal adults who will hunt for ghosts on the weekend."

"B-but I got g-g-gigs on e-every other S-S-Saturdays," Jimmy said.

"Then every other weekend!" Clyde said. Craig extended his hand, "go ghost hunters!"

"That name still sucks, Clyde," Token sighted, but placed his hand over Clyde's.

"We really need to come up with something else," Craig sighed as he placed his hand on top.

"A-at least it's better than g-ghost pussy kickers," Jimmy said.

"Dude...that was your name idea...."

"E-e-exactly," Jimmy smiled.

* * *

The boys made it to the mansion and were greeted by Ms. Lang, the person who hired them to help get rid of the ghosts that lived in the mansion. Ms. Lang was happy to see the boy when they showed up and couldn't help but express her gratitude.

"Thank you again for coming. I've been trying to sell this place for months now, but every time I try to sell it, my clients are freaked out by the ghosts that live here! If I don't sell it by next week, I just don't know what to do!"

"Don't worry Ms. Lang, we're professionals. We'll get this all sorted out," Token said.

"Yep, especially when we have our secret weapon," Clyde said as he nudged Craig.

Craig rolled his eyes and looked at Ms. Lang, "so how many people use to live here?"

"Well...not sure about the exact number...I said almost a thousand people once live here?"

"A-a-a t-t-thousand!?"

"That's right, most of which were families, staff, and even a couple of friends. There was a fire that started in the kitchen in 1990, those who were in the kitchen and dining room died there."

"F-fire? W-what started it?"

"It seemed there was a gas leak that no one noticed."

"Any other deaths that occurred here?"

"Let's see...most of if are natural...some were from plagues that happened in the 1800s...oh but...it seemed there were a bunch of murders that occurred nearby...not exactly inside the mansion. Does that count?"

"Well Craig? Does it count?"

"Not really ghosts that died outside a house are able to go anywhere, while those who does die inside a building are trapped there unless they possessed a personal item that is taken from one place to another," Craig explained.

"Yikes...sounds complicated," Clyde said.

"I told you this ten times, Clyde, you were just too busy playing Angry Birds on your phone," Craig sighed.

"Ahem...anyways...we'll be sure to get rid of all the ghosts before next week," Token said.

"You better, I am paying you four a thousand dollars here, so if you guys don't get rid of all of them, I ain't paying a single dime," Ms. Lang said.

"Don't worry ma'am, we'll be done with the job before you-" as Craig opened the door, he paled when he saw that there was over a hundred ghosts in the room. "Oh shit..." Craig's nose started to bleed and his eyes rolled to the back of his head before he collapsed and started foaming from his mouth.

"Oh god!" Clyde quickly grabbed Craig while Token helped. The two quickly headed upstairs and try to find a safe place to lay Craig in.

"...Professionals...huh?" Ms. Lang crossed her arms and glared at Jimmy.

"W-w-well...professionals in g-g-ghost hunting. Ha ha ha..." Jimmy smiled nervously.

After the deal was made and everyone set up their equipment everywhere. They ghost hunting group have settled in and were ready to talk to some ghosts, however, with Craig knocked out at the moment, they couldn't do anything until the boy woke up.

"Nng...h-huh?" Craig opened his eyes when he felt a wet cloth on his face.

"Glad you're up, man," Token said as he wiped Craig's face with a wet towel, "we were getting worried," Token said.

"....How long was I out?" Craig asked.

"About seven hours. You missed both lunch and dinner. You must be starving," Token said.

"Not really. The thought of eating anything is going to make me gag," Craig said as he sighed and laid down the bed he was laying on.

"Hm, well at least have some porridge, you gotta get your strength back up somehow," Token said as he handed Craig a tray of gloppy goop that was suppose to be porridge.

"...Did Clyde help you make this?"

"....Yeah, he was really worried," Token said.

"I'll pass for now. I'll get something to eat later," Craig sighed.

"....Let me guess...there was a whole bunch of ghost on the first floor?" Token asked.

"Yep," Craig said.

Token sighed, "well...shit...this is going to be harder than I thought."

"Well hey...we didn't think of the possibilities of a bunch of ghosts being on the first floor now did we? We just got to be extra careful from now on," Craig said.

"...Look man...I know you want to get the money so you can start that fashion boutique and impress your mom...but you sure you want to do this? It's not too late to quit."

"...I don't want to lie to my mom anymore, Toke. I have to do this," Craig said.

"...Alright...but if it gets too much for you, we're calling it off. I never want to see you foaming from the mouth ever again," Token said.

"Don't worry, Toke. I'm tough...I'll be careful next time," Craig said.

"Uh huh," Token sighed. "Well I better let you rest. We'll start working in the morning."

"Hey...where exactly is Clyde and Jimmy anyways?"

"Oh that...well while you were out, the two idiots thought they could try getting rid of ghost by doing seances and whatever they found online," Token sighed.

"...How's that working?"

"Well...they managed to get rid of two...only because they were really annoying...but since I'm not sure if our equipment is reading stuff correctly...we really need you for this job," Token said.

Craig sighed, "that's what I thought."

* * *

It was almost midnight and the guys decided to head to bed now. They all went to their assigned rooms and promised they would get to work in the morning. Once the lights were off and everyone has said their good nights, Craig settled into his bed and tried to get some sleep. However, a noise could be heard from the hallways, probably a ghost trying to scare them.

Sine Craig knows that ghosts were nothing more but pranksters by nature, he wasn't afraid, and since Jimmy and Token were quite use to stuff like this already, they weren't going to be affected by the noise. However, Clyde was still a scaredy-cat and was probably going to have trouble sleeping all night.

Craig tries his best to ignore the noise and try to get some sleep, but when he hears a loud noise coming from below, he couldn't help but be curious at what was happening. Craig got out of his bed and grabbed a flashlight from his backpack. He peeked outside of his door, making sure there weren't that many ghost around. So far he saw none. Craig started leaving his room and headed downstairs as he follows where the noise was coming from. He soon found himself near the dining room.

"Um...hello?" Craig called out, hoping someone would answer him. When he listened closely, he could hear a bunch of people chatting and laughing. Craig knew no one was going to hear him. Taking a sigh, Craig prepared himself as he stepped inside. Craig gasped when he saw so many ghosts in one room. His head was starting to hurt and Craig quickly looked down, making sure not to look at anyone but the wooden floor beneath him.

"Oh my, isn't that the living boy who fainted this morning?"

"Wonder what's he doing up so late?"

"You think hes alright? He was bleeding quite a bit this morning."

"Well I don't know about you girls, but he is very handsome!"

"Oh please Marry, you fall for anyone that has blood all over their clothes, only because you have blood all over your dress!"

"It just shows how much we have in common!"

Craig was curious as to who was talking above him, but knew not to let his curiosity get the best of him. Craig continued walking around until he reached the kitchen. Craig carefully peeked inside and was glad to see that there wasn't that many ghosts inside. Craig quickly stepped inside and looked around, surprised to see that the ghosts were cooking, which was strange to him since ghosts don't need to eat or anything like that.

Craig suddenly jumped when one of the ghosts wearing a chef's hat was barking up orders at everyone else. "You! Clean up the floors! You! Stir that stew! You! Keep chopping! And you!" The chef pointed at Craig when he noticed him standing there. "What are you doing in my kitchen, boy?"

"Um..sorry...just curious with what's happening down here," Craig said.

"Chef! The boy can see us!" A ghost chopping vegetables exclaimed.

"I can see that Freddy, now get back to chopping!" The chef exclaimed.

"Yes chef!" Freddy continued to chop the vegetables.

"As for you, to answer you idiotic question, we cooks are busy making the food for tonight's dinner!"

"Dinner? Dude, it's almost going to be one in the morning."

"Yeah well we usually start the dinner party at around six, but two of your friends were disturbing us and we couldn't concentrate at all until you guys finally left the kitchen," Freddy said.

"Enough chatter, get back to chopping those vegetables!"

"But I chopped them up already, chef!"

"Chop them some more until they are nothing but specks!" Chef exclaimed.

"Yes chef!" Freddy then went back to chopping the vegetables even more.

"Now if you'll excuse me flesh bag, but I must run kitchen now," the chef said as he headed to the other side of the kitchen to yell at more people.

"Jesus, who shit on him this morning?" Craig asked.

"Don't take it to heart, kid. The chef is just a bit angry lately since he can't taste the food anymore and make sure it's edible enough for everyone out there," Freddy explained.

"But why cook food at all? And...where did you even get these ingredients from? They seem fresh," Craig said when he noticed that none of the food in the kitchen was spoiled or anything like that. It looked like they were recently bought.

"The reason we still cook even though we're dead is because...well...it's the principle of it. As long as we're here, might as well cook...even though it's going to be pointless in the end," Freddy sighed, "as for your second question. We actually have an errand boy that can leave the mansion any time he wants since he didn't die inside the building," Freddy explained.

"He didn't die inside? Then how did he die?"

"Not sure. He doesn't live in the mansion or anything, but whenever we asked him how he died...he goes silent for weeks, not saying a word or moving. We decided to never bring it up again since it appeared to be a touchy subject," Freddy said.

"...Hm..." Wonder who this errand boy was. "Is he here?"

"No, he went out to get more ingredients, might take him awhile since the things we need is...well...meat," Freddy said.

"That sounds tough," Craig sighed. As he looked around the kitchen, he noticed that everyone looked exhausted, he wondered how long they've been here. "How long have you been staying here?"

"Ever since the fire. We knew that gas leak could have been prevented if we just checked...but we were so damn busy that night, chef didn't want to waste time and check...saying how his kitchen was too perfect and that there weren't any problems, that there will never be any problems," Freddy sighed.

"And I'm guessing because of the chef's pride...you all ended up killed in that fire...and now you're stuck here," Craig sighed.

"Yep. Watching people moving in...then dying later. Hell...we actually decided to resort to scaring off possible owners since this place is too cramp and we don't want anymore dead people in here."

"So that's why you guys are scaring away all of Ms. Lang's clients?"

"We had to, death is unpredictable. Who knows what will happen. All we know is...this place is overrun by ghosts, and having anymore in the future is going to be a hassle, so might as well scare them away and prevent overcrowding," Freddy said.

"Freddy! I said chop those vegetables! Don't make throw the bottle at you!"

"Bottle?"

"He basically throws a bottle at my head until it smashes, considering I'm already dead, it's kinda pointless, but it's still terrifying," Freddy said.

"...Well ever thought of moving on and getting away from this abuse?" Craig asked.

"Yeah...a little, all of us wants to move on," Freddy said.

"Then why haven't you?"

"...it's the chef's code."

"Chef's...code?"

"Yep, until the chef says it's okay to leave, we're stuck here," Freddy sighed.

"....Hm....if I convince your chef to move on...will you guys leave?" Craig asked.

"Sure."

"...As for the people in the dining area...will they leave?"

"They were huge fans of chef's food, and they also died in the fire along with us. I'm sure they'll move on if they see their favorite chef moving on," Freddy explained.

"....I think I have a solution to everyone's problem," Craig smiled as he headed over towards the chef. "Excuse me."

"What do you want, flesh bag? Cookies and milk perhaps?"

"Dude, I'm nineteen," Craig frowned, "and shut up for minute. I have a solution to your not being able to taste your food problem."

"Oh? What might that be, flesh bag?"

"...Since you're using real ingredients...I can taste your food and tell you what I think," Craig said.

The chef's eyes widened. "You will!?" The chef exclaimed in a high pitched voice, obviously excited.

"Yep, I'll taste whatever food you have, but in return, you must move on, let these guys rest, and take the people in the dining room with you," Craig said.

"My young prince, you got yourself a deal!" The chef grinned. "Alright everyone, prepare the five courses! I want to stuff this prince until he collapses and go into a food coma!"

"Maybe not that far?" Craig muttered.

"Um...we can't do that, chef," Freddy said.

"Why not?" Chef frowned.

"Mr. Tweak hasn't come back with the rest of the ingredients yet," Freddy said.

"What!?" The chef was so angry that a few of the wine bottles flew past Craig and smashed against the wall behind him. Freddy was right, that was terrifying, and since he was still alive and that could have easily killed him, it really increased the fear factor there. "Where is that damn errand boy! I strangle his skinny neck!"

"Gah! I'm here! Don't strangle me!" A ghost suddenly ran into the kitchen holding bags in his arms. His hair was messy, his clothes were rumbled up a bit, and he looked exhausted. It was strange to see a ghost out of breath considering they don't need to breathe anymore.

"You're late, Mr. Tweak. I should fire you from errand boy duties!"

"Well...you can't really do that chef. After all...he's the only one in the mansion that's free to leave the mansion after all," Freddy said.

"A-and n-not to be rude...but you never hired me...you just dumped the job on me the moment I showed up," Mr. Tweak said.

"No back sass boy and get back to work!" Chef exclaimed.

The ghost sighed and frowned, "I still don't understand why you guys even need to cook when no one can even eat this stuff. It'll all go to waste in the end you know," Mr. Tweak sighed.

"Well not tonight, we got someone here who's going to help taste our food," Freddy said.

Confused, the ghost looked around until he finally noticed Craig standing near the door. "Oh Jesus!" Mr. Tweak had his back against the ceiling as he stared down at the living human in front of him. "I-it's one of them! Those hunters that were hired to get rid of us!"

"Calm down, Mr. Tweak, he simply came here to talk," Freddy said.

"Yes and try my food!" The chef pulled out a tray and revealed a pasta with creamy sauce.

"Huh...looks good," Craig said as he takes the fork on the tray and started twirling the pasta on the fork.

"You can't be serious!" Mr. Tweak suddenly flung the tray across the room, but luckily for Craig, he managed to get some pasta on his fork before the tray was smacked away.

"Mr. Tweak, you maybe an outsider to this mansion, and you may not have known about the history of this place until you arrived here, but keep in mind that when you had nowhere else to go, we opened our arms and hearts to you, so if I see you disrespecting my kitchen, my food, my cooks, and my new friend here, it's off with your head!"

"Gah!" Mr. Tweak exclaimed.

"Mr. Tweak, you're dead already," Freddy said.

"Oh...right," Mr. Tweak said.

"But that doesn't mean I can't kick you in the head!" The chef exclaimed.

"Oh god!"

"Um...I'm going to eat this now," Craig sighed. He was really getting tired and would like to go to bed soon. He put the pasta into his mouth and his eyes widen when he savored the flavor. Though Craig wasn't very knowledgeable on fancy foods and things like that, he'll admit that pasta was damn good. "It's really tasty," Craig said.

"He likes it!" The chef exclaimed, causing everyone in the kitchen to cheer. "Quick! Bring on the next course!"

Everyone in the kitchen ran around, quickly making the next four courses. Mr. Tweak couldn't believe what he was seeing as he watched everyone preparing food for a living being. It was very odd to the young ghost.

"Please my prince, why don't you sit down, make yourself comfortable. Your food will be ready in a few minutes," The chef smiled.

"Sure...but uh...you don't have to call me prince, Craig is fine," Craig said as he sat down on a chair near the door.

"...." Mr. Tweak couldn't believe it, but that doesn't mean he wasn't curious about the living human in the kitchen. Mr. Tweak stood near the door, looking out into the dining area, all while taking a peek at Craig.

Judging from his size and appearance, Mr. Tweak believed that the human boy was around his age...or at least the age he died on.

"....You're staring," Craig turned around until his blue eyes were staring at him.

"S-sorry," Mr. Tweak said, quickly looking down.

"Just relax dude, not going to do anything. Just want to talk," Craig said.

"Here you are, a plate of Stuffed Chicken Valentino! It's to die for!" The chef held up the plate in front of Craig.

Taking his fork once again, Craig stabbed the chicken and placed it in his mouth. He smiled when the flavor hit him. "It's really good, no wonder your loyal fans wait to try your food," Craig said.

"I could just kiss you!" The chef exclaimed.

"...Please don't," Craig said.

"Of course. Ready course three!" The chef exclaimed.

"Yes chef."

One the chef left, Craig couldn't help but smile at how everyone was so energetic, even though awhile ago he was annoyed by all the noise that was happening earlier. Seeing everyone being so passionate about something they once did, Craig learned to respect that.

"...." Mr. Tweak. couldn't help but noticed the smile on the boy's face, it was weird to him. Usually a living person would never smile when they see a ghost. "....You're weird."

Craig turned his attention back to Mr. Tweak, "...yeah...I guess," Craig let out a sigh as he leaned back a bit till his back was against the wall.

"...." Mr. Tweek turned around, pouting a bit. He suddenly felt bad for being rude earlier. He thought he should be nicer to this human. "I-I'm Tweek by the way."

"Wait...so Tweek...Tweak?" Craig scoffed.

Tweek glared at him, "fuck you man, it's not like I came up with the name myself!" Tweek pouted.

"Sorry sorry sorry," Craig smiled, he cleared his throat, "I'm Craig Tucker."

"...." Tweek didn't look at him, still a bit angry at him for making fun of his name, but he relaxed a bit now that he knows the strange human's name. "Um...hope you don't mind me asking...but uh..what's it like....seeing ghosts?"

"...No one has ever asked me that...but then again...no one believes me besides my friends," Craig said. "I guess...it's...normal for me? I mean...I could see ghosts since I was a baby and never thought of anything about it. At first...I thought what I was seeing was my imagination, but as I grew older and the people I met were more...gruesome looking, I learned the truth. That still didn't mean people believed me though. If people saw me talking to ghosts now...they think I'm crazy...hell...my mom probably thought I was crazy before I started to pretend I don't see anything."

"Must be tough," Tweek said.

"It is what it is, especially since there's a limit to how many ghosts I can see per room. If I see more than ten ghosts in a room, I'm going to black out, similar to how I did this morning, but at least this ability of mine helps me and my friends with this job," Craig said.

Tweek suddenly became defensive, "Ah ha! So you are trying to get rid of us!"

"W-what?" Craig stared at Tweek, shocked. "No we...well sorta...I mean...we were hired to make sure all you ghosts leave the mansion, but-"

"Ah ha!"

"It's not what it looks like! We just think you guys moving on would be better instead of being stuck here for all eternity, you know?"

"How do you know we even want to move on, huh? A lot of people loved this place and you're basically telling them to let go and leave the only home they know!"

"I mean...I guess, but in the end...you all got to let go eventually, right? Hell, you're all scaring innocent people just because it's overcrowded here! Wouldn't you think it's just better to...leave and let new people to live here?"

"No I don't! so screw you, screw your friends, and screw your greediness!"

"G-greediness!?"

"The lamb is ready," the chef came up with a tray of cooked lamb.

"In a minute," Craig said, "you're calling me and my friends...greedy!?"

"Well if you're being paid to get rid us of this place, then yes, you're greedy!"

Craig didn't care what others say about him, but when someone makes fun of his friends, he wasn't taking it. "Screw you, you don't even know what we're going to do with that money!"

"Oh please, you're obviously going to spend it on drugs and women!"

"You have no fucking right to say that about us! I mean...yeah...Clyde might use his cut to impress girls but not all of us are like that!"

"Oh yeah, your'e all not like that, sure," Tweek said, "you're still kicking these people out of their own home!"

"Well I don't know if you noticed but this place has not one owner haunting it! There's like a thousand people who owned this place! So it's not all that special if you think about it!"

"Well it is to these people!"

"Oh yeah then what about you? You don't live in this mansion, you're just an outsider who died near here! What's you're excuse!?"

Tweek gasped, "I-I...." Tweek fumed as he glared at the boy. "Screw you!" Tweek suddenly vanished and left.

"....Dick," Craig muttered as he sat back down in his chair and frowned.

"Oh don't be too upset my dear prince, just enjoy some lamb. The meat will melt in your mouth!" The chef said.

Craig sighed and poked his fork into the meat. He stuffed the food into his mouth. Though he was still upset, he still enjoyed the flavor of the lamb. It really did melt in his mouth. "It's delicious," Craig smiled.

After eating the pasta, the chicken, the lamb, and a french name that Craig can't pronounce, the final course was finally served to Craig. It was a chocolate cake with powdered sugar topping it. Craig wasn't known to have a sweet tooth, but the cake looked very pretty with it's three layers, the design, and just how it looks in general.

"After this, you and everyone else leave, right?" Craig asked as he stabbed his fork into the cake. He suddenly hear someone scoffing, so when he peeked in the corner of his eyes, he saw Tweek was hanging near the ceiling, judging him a bit.

"Of course of course, now hurry and taste it!"

"Alright," Craig said as he placed the piece into his mouth. His eyes widen as he enjoyed the flavor of chocolate, truffles, and frosting. It was delicious. "So good!" Craig said as he allowed himself to take another bite.

"...." When Craig look up at the chef, Craig was surprised to see the chef was crying. In fact, everyone was shock to see the chef crying.

"Chef? You alright?" Freddy asked as he placed his hand on the chef's shoulder.

"...All my life...I believed this kitchen was the most important thing to me...in fact...I didn't even leave when...that fire started....I just stayed here...allowing myself to burn alive because I didn't want to leave this place. Seeing you enjoying my food though...made me realized that...the kitchen wasn't important to me...it was seeing people smile from eating my food that was important. I've been a damn fool," the chef said, wiping a tear from his eyes. "Craig...thank you."

"...You're welcome," Craig smiled.

Tweek was surprised to see the chef acting like this. The day he showed up, the man was so harsh on him and everyone else, he only lighten up a bit when Tweek showed that he can move freely outside, but seeing the chef actually crying, all because this living human being, Tweek was utterly shocked.

"Now...I believe it's my time to move from this old musty kitchen...and make food like I use to again. It's time I move on," the chef said as he stepped out into the living room. Everyone followed him, including Craig and Tweek. The chef stood on the dining table as he called to the other ghosts in the room. "To my loyal fans, it is time we all move on now. I apologize for keeping you all here, but now...let's rest...and enjoy the food in the new world. So let's all go my friends...and finally taste the food we missed again!"

Craig smiled, even though he had to keep his head down from looking at anyone. For now, he enjoyed the happy cheers and voices from everyone in the room.

"Food? Taste!? I'm in!"

"You think there'll be any blood soaked gentleman in the new world?"

"Who cares! Let's just get out of this damn mansion already!"

Tweek was surprised when everyone in the room was agreeing to leave, but seeing all these people smiling happily, he couldn't get upset.

"Oh my! The tingles!"

"Here we go!"

"Off to the new world I say!"

Tweek gasped as he watched everyone glowing and started to fade. Was this how people go, he thought. It was beautiful to him. Tweek watched as everyone disappeared with a smile on their face. They all looked happy.

"See...I'm not trying to force anyone to leave the only home they know...I just...think they'll be happy to be somewhere without feeling pain or sorrow. I mean...ghosts do end up going crazy if they stay here too long without a purpose or anything like that," Craig said.

"...." Tweek watched as the people he knew since his stay here started to disappear. Thinking back, he does remember how the cooks use to act before he came. How moody they were just because they didn't have any ingredients to cook with, how they were very emotional and stressed out. If Tweek didn't show up as he did, who knows how these people would have acted, but now...they were free...they were happy. "...I'm sorry for snapping at you," Tweek said as he looked down at the human.

Craig was silent, he lifted his head carefully as he look up at Tweek, "you gonna leave too?" Craig asked.

"...." Tweek looked and watched as everyone continued to leave. He felt a bit jealous at that moment. "...I can't...not yet," Tweek said.

"....Nnng....gkkk..."

"Huh? Craig?" Tweek turned his head and was shocked to see the boy foaming from the mouth as his nose started to bleed. "Oh my god!" Tweek suddenly remembered Craig mentioning how he can't see more than ten ghosts in a room, so when Tweek looked behind him, he noticed that there was obviously more than ten behind him. "Oh shit!" Tweek stared back at Craig as the boy collapsed and started convulsing on the floor. Thinking quickly, Tweek grabbed a nearby napkin from the table and placed it over Craig's face. "It's going to be over soon, hold on!" Tweek exclaimed as he used his levitating powers to help carry Craig out of the room.

Tweek managed to get Craig out of dining room, but looking back at the boy, he noticed that Craig has already passed out. Sighing, Tweek started carrying the boy back upstairs to his room.

Once Tweek managed to get inside Craig's room, Tweek settled the boy on his bed and wiped the blood from the boy's face. Tweek then grabbed the blanket and pulled it over the boy's shoulder.

"Jesus..if you can't handle shit like that, why take the job? Do you need the money that badly?" Tweek muttered as he stared down at the boy. Tweek suddenly hear something vibrating, when Tweek looked around, he noticed Craig's phone. Curious, Tweek examined the phone and using his ghost powers, he managed to open the phone and read the message inside.

It was a message from Craig's mother.

_Hey Craig, sorry for texting you this late, just felt like sending a quick message and see if you were doing alright. You didn't sound okay yesterday and I just wanted to check up on you. Anyways, I'll wait for your reply, and hope you'll tell me about school. Can't wait to see you opening up a fashion boutique in the future. Alright, I'll let you sleep. Good night honey. -Mom_

"..." Tweek put the phone down and stared at the boy, judging from why Craig was doing this, what he talked about, and everything else, Tweek finally realized why Craig and his friends were here. "You really are a liar...aren't you? Tweek muttered as he stared at the sleeping boy, "lying to your mother...that's a dick move of you..." Tweek said.

"Nnngg..." Craig turned over, the blanket sliding off his shoulders a bit.

"...Guess that's why you're trying to make things right, huh?" Tweek pulled the blanket over the boy's shoulder, "fine...I'll let you convince everyone to leave, but just know...it's not going to be easy. Most of these guys were here for a long time...and they aren't very easy to convince...no matter how persuasive or nice you are to them. Hope you and your friends are ready for that," Tweek said.

"Nnng...the pasta was really good...chef," Craig muttered in his sleep as he nestled deeper into his pillow.

Tweek stared at him, smiling a bit, "dork." Tweek left, making sure to clean everything up and putting everything away for the boy. He only hoped that these flesh bags know what they're doing.

* * *

The next morning after the group finished eating breakfast, they all got to work immediately. Craig did informed the group that he already got the ghost in the kitchen and dinning hall out of the way, so they don't have to worry about that.

"Were you okay last night?" Token asked.

"Yeah...why?" Craig asked.

"Well I mean...you said you got rid of the ghosts in the kitchen and dining room...but that place was huge...there must have been at least a hundred ghosts in there," Token said.

"It's fine, I handled everything," Craig said, of course, he didn't mention about him fainting and blacking out, or how Tweek helped carry him back to his room. He just needs to get this job over with, get paid, and open that boutique so his mom would be proud of him.

"Well, since we still have a lot of ghosts around, why don't we try checking the garden?" Clyde suggested.

"G-g-good idea. T-the g-garden is outside, Craig can h-handle the o-outside," Jimmy said.

"Exactly. Well Craig?"

"Let's do it," Craig said.

The four headed to the garden without any problems, he did have to look down when he saw twenty ghosts in the hallway, but with his friends nearby, he was able to walk around without bumping into things.

Once they were in the garden, Craig looked around. He noticed a girl sitting on a bench all by herself. Craig walked over towards her and sat down next to her. "Hello," Craig said.

"Oh my...you're that boy who was bleeding so much yesterday," the girl said.

"Yeah, that's me."

"And those your troublesome friends over there," the girl said as she looked over to where the other guys were.

"Yeah...sorry about that," Craig said.

"I will say, it was quite hilarious seeing that one over there dancing around in his underpants," the girl giggled.

Craig stared at Clyde and sighed. He didn't even want to know what the fuck Clyde and Jimmy were doing yesterday. Instead, Craig turned his attention back to the girl. "Why are you here?"

"I loved the garden, made me feel beautiful," the girl said.

"Well I'll admit, you are beautiful," Craig said.

The girl giggled, "oh my...are you courting me, sir?"

Craig looked away in embarrassment, "n-not really...I just think you do look lovely in this lighting...and the flowers behind you...that's all," Craig said.

The girl giggled, "oh relax...I'm not interested in young men like you...even if you are a bit cute," the girl said, "my heart belonged to another."

"...Well where is he?" Craig asked.

The girl sighed, "he moved on a long time ago...saying he didn't want to stay in this mansion forever. Tried to convince me to come with him," the girl said.

"Well why didn't you?"

"It's this damn dress of mine," the girl sighed. "I don't want to go anywhere wearing the same thing I died in. What would the other girls say when I meet them up there?" The girl asked.

"I'm pretty sure they won't care, and besides...wherever you go...there might be a couple of new dresses for you to try," Craig said.

"Even so...you have to make a great first impression when going somewhere new, and what better way then trying beautiful clothes. Something that was never seen before! Something...something...new!"

Craig sighed, look like it was going to be hard to convince this ghost to move on. "Well what do you want?"

"I need someone...to design me a new outfit...something from this generation! All the girls will be so jealous of me when I walk in with a beautiful new gown," the girl said.

"Design?"

"Oh! Well you can totally ask this flesh bag to design something for you!" Craig jumped when Tweek suddenly spoke behind him.

"Craig! What's going on over there?" Clyde asked.

"Shut up, Clyde. I'm busy," Craig sighed. He turned around, "what are you doing here?"

"Helping," Tweek whispered, he turned back to the girl, "this fine gentleman here has designed clothes before! I'm sure he can help you find the design you're looking for!"

"Oh!" The girl exclaimed, "how magnificent! Hurry! Show me a design!" The girl begged.

"Now wait a minute, I don't draw or anything like that," Craig said.

"But you're into fashion, right?" Tweek asked.

"How did you-"

"No talking, just draw," Tweek suddenly showed a sketchpad floating next to him. "Hurry up if you want her to move on, unless you want to quit and not get paid," Tweek said.

Craig glared at the ghost before grabbing the sketchpad and took a deep breath. Remembering what he learned on the first week of design class, Craig started to sketch out an image of the dress he had in mind. Using the pencils, coloring pencils, and erasers that Tweek provided, Craig managed to get something drawn up on the page.

His friends stared at him, wondering what's going on or why a sketchpad suddenly appeared, but knowing that they shouldn't interrupt their friend while he's talking, they just continued to wait for him until he was finished with whatever he was doing.

"There, how's this?" Craig asked as he showed the girl a black dress that slanted a bit at the hem, and had very think straps. The dress was also accompanied by a white belt.

"Oh my! What a very strange dress...I love it!" The girl said as she held up the drawing, "oh I must have this at once!" The girl closed her eyes and suddenly, her outfit started to change until it looked exactly like the dress in Craig's drawing. "Oh the girls are going to be so jealous, and my love will probably fall for me even more! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"No problem, madam," Craig bowed his head and smiled to see someone liking his design.

The girl stood up and she started to glow, "well...I'm off. Goodbye!" The girl waved her hand and Craig waved back as he watches the girl fade until she disappeared.

"Hm...I thought you were going to give her more frills and stuff...but you gave her something she wanted, so nice," Tweek said as he examined the sketch himself.

"Yeah yeah...what do you want?"

"Is that anyway to talk to someone who just helped you?" Tweek asked.

"I didn't need your help, I could have gotten it over with by myself," Craig said.

"Sure you could," Tweek giggled.

"I was close!" Craig frowned.

"Uh huh," Tweek chuckled as he floated next to Craig. "Well hopefully you have an idea on how you're going to get rid of the rest of the ghosts in there, and without foaming from the mouth and fainting like you did last night," Tweek said.

Craig froze, he looked down feeling embarrassed. Letting out a sigh, he decided to apologize, "I'm sorry and thank you...for helping me last night," Craig said.

Tweek smiled, "You're welcome, and I think you should also thank me for helping you get rid of her," Tweek said.

"Whatever, we don't need your help," Craig said.

"Okay, but you're going to eat those words when you go in there," Tweek said.

"Yeah right, my friends and I have been doing this job for a long time, I think we can handle anything," Craig said as he opened the door to head inside. Craig quickly ducked down when a chair flew over him and smashed into pieces.

"Holy shit! You okay!?" Clyde exclaimed.

"H-h-hate to b-break it to you guys, b-but g-ghost activity has inc-c-creased. S-seems the g-ghost are p-pissed," Jimmy said.

"Well shit," Token said, "it's going to be a long day," Token sighed.

Tweek smirked as he stared at Craig, "well flesh bag?" Tweek asked.

Craig frowned before flipping the ghost off, "fuck you," Craig said and proceeded heading inside.

"....Was it me or did Craig flip off a ghost?" Clyde asked.

The rest of the day became a hassle for the boys, because there were very limited places where there weren't that many ghosts in one room, the group didn't get much done. Craig felt guilty that he wasn't able to help out because of the limitation of his abilities, but there was nothing anyone can do.

Well...there was one thing they could do...but Craig wasn't sure if he wanted to ask him.

"Craig..." Speak of the devil.

"No, screw you," Craig said.

"What did I do?" Clyde asked as he sat up from the couch he was laying on.

"No you, Tweek," Craig said.

"Tweek?"

"That ghost I told you about earlier," Craig said.

"Oh, the g-guy who d-doesn't live here," Jimmy said.

"Yep," Craig sighed, he look up to see Tweek hovering over him, "for the last time, we don't need your help."

"You sure about that, flesh bag?" Tweek asked.

"Screw you," Craig said.

"...Actually...if he's offering to help, it could help us a whole lot, especially with the rooms that has way too many ghosts," Token said.

"See?" Tweek smirked.

"No way! I am not working with this asshole!" Craig exclaimed.

"Come on Craig, we only have five days until Ms. Lang comes back, if we don't get rid of the ghosts here, we're not getting paid!" Clyde exclaimed.

"And we won't get the money for your boutique," Token said.

"...."

"C-come on C-Craig...having a g-ghost to help us g-get rid of ghosts doesn't seem l-like a b-bad idea," Jimmy said.

"....." Craig sighed before turning his attention back to Tweek. "You screw us over, I won't hesitate to use a vacuum," Craig said as he grabbed his bag. The group started heading to the next area to check out.

"...Pff...that only works in the movie, dipshit," Tweek said as he followed the group.

When the group reached the ballroom area, Craig's head started to hurt and his nose was slightly bleeding before he quickly shut the door. "Yep, there's a lot of them," Craig said.

"I'l handle this," Tweek said as he entered the room.

"What's happening?" Clyde asked as he looked over at the ghost counter.

"Just waiting to see Tweek fail miserably," Craig huffed.

"Um...you sure?" Token asked as he held up the counter and showed that a number of ghosts were disappearing.

Craig grabbed the counter before barging into the room and gaping at the sight of a hundred ghosts moving on and disappearing at once. The bright light coming from them was too much that Craig actually had to shield his eyes from the bright light.

"W-what did you do!?" Craig asked.

Tweek smirked as he stood right in front of Craig. Tweek leaned forward, causing Craig to lean back a bit. "Tch, just because you can see ghosts and stuff doesn't mean you know them or what can easily persuade them to leave." Tweek looked up and smiled as all the ghosts in the room disappeared completely. "You're welcome," Tweek said as he left.

"Dude...did your ghost friend get rid of all those ghosts that quickly!?" Token asked.

"So cool! We'll be finished with this job in no time," Clyde exclaimed as he squeezed the tablet he was holding.

Craig glared at him before walking up to him, grabbing the tablet and throwing it on the ground. Craig then walked past the two and left he ballroom in anger.

"...That wasn't even one of our ghost equipment...I bought that..." Clyde said.

"...There there," both Token and Jimmy patted their friend on the back.

* * *

 

Having Tweek around made everyone's job so easy. All Tweek had to do was talk to the ghosts, and the ghost will leave, just like that, but if there were any ghosts that still remained, it was up to Craig to get rid of them.

That still didn't make him less jealous of Tweek.

"Hey Tweek, thanks again for getting rid of those ghosts in the library," Token said.

"You're welcome," Tweek smiled.

"...Craig...did...did he say anything?" Token asked.

Craig groaned, "he said 'thank you.' Now can I eat my food in peace?" Craig grumbled as he tore off a piece of chicken from his chicken leg.

"Hey Tweek, what did you use to do when you were alive?" Clyde asked.

"Mm...I use to paint a lot...and I helped my parents run the coffee shop. Oh and I did a bit of acting on the side here and there," Tweek said, he looked at Craig, waiting for him to tell Clyde.

Craig ignored him and continued eating his food.

"What he say, Craig?"

"Why are you guys asking me to translate for you!?" Craig asked.

"Because you're the only one that can hear ghosts?" Clyde asked.

"Okay, there is a huge difference between seeing a ghost and hearing one. Ghosts can easily project their voices to living people whenever they want if they're not busy being little prankster, and you know it!" Craig pointed at Tweek with an angry glare.

Tweek giggled, "yeah...but it's more fun using you as a translator," Tweek said.

"You piece of," Craig grabbed his drumstick and threw it at Tweek, but since he was a ghost, the drumstick merely went through him.

"Dude...I'm a ghost, remember?" Tweek said.

"Ugh!" Craig got up from his chair and started to leave, "I lost my appetite, I'm going to my room," Craig said.

"I thought we were going to hunt some more ghosts?"

"Ask Tweek to help you!" Craig exclaimed as he left.

Once Craig left the dining room, instead of going straight to his room, he decided to head out of the garden to get some fresh air. Once he was outside, he sighed in relief when he saw no one was around. Craig walked over towards a bench near the pond and look up at the night sky. He needed to clear his mind.

"Stupid ghost...they were my friends first," Craig grumbled to himself as he kicked a stone that was near his feet. Craig was never known to be possessive of his friends, but after only having ghosts as friends for a long time before you finally made friends with people that were alive, Craig didn't want to share his friends, especially to a ghost. "...God damn it," Craig soon realized that he was acting childish, hell, if Martha or even Maya saw him now, they'd scold him. Sam might even be disappointed in him. As for Madam Rouge...he was sure she would make things worse.

As Craig sat there, staring up at the full moon, he was conflicted whether to go back inside and apologize or just go straight to his room and try apologizing in the morning.

"That was some show back there, Craig."

"Ugh...will you just go away already?" Craig sighed as he turned around and noticed Tweek flying towards him.

"I don't get you, Craig. Why were you being all moody back there?"

"I wasn't moody!" Craig crossed his arms and turned away from the ghost, "anyways why are you even out here? Shouldn't you be ghost hunting with my friends?"

Tweek shook his head, realizing what was happening, "I would be if Clyde wasn't too busy trying to get a ceramic pot off of his hand," Tweek said.

"What? What did he do?"

"Jimmy dared him to stick his hand in this pot, Token was against it, but Clyde wanted to do it and did put his hand inside, but now he can't get it out," Tweek sighed.

"God damn it," Craig pinched the bridge of his noise, "hopefully Ms. Lang won't noticed a smashed pot," Craig said as he got up and started heading inside.

"Hold it," Tweek pulled Craig back, causing the boy to panic when he was lifted up in the air.

"Dude, let me go!" Craig exclaimed.

"Not until we talk, flesh bag," Tweek said.

"What's with you and all the ghosts here calling us flesh bags?" Craig asked.

"It's more easier to understand and say than calling you living people. It's sounds so awkward just saying that," Tweek said.

"Let me guess, you're the one who suggested it?" Craig crossed his arm.

"Maybe," Tweek smiled. He placed Craig back down near the bench and forced the boy to sit back down.

Not having much of a choice, Craig decided to cooperate, "look, do you think you can not show off so much in front of my friends?"

"Why? They seem to be having lots of fun, and it's helping get this job finished much quicker," Tweek said.

"Yeah well...I don't want them to be friends with a ghost," Craig said.

"...What's wrong with that?" Tweek asked.

Craig frowned, "I mean...there's nothing really wrong with that..."

"Hm...is it because you want to be the only one that can make friends with both ghosts and flesh bags?"

"No! Of course not!"

"Then...is it because you're afraid a ghost is going to hurt your friends?"

"...No...a lot of the ghosts I've met aren't that much of a jerk," Craig said.

"Then...are you afraid that if your friends start befriending ghosts...other flesh bags will criticize them?"

Bullseye. Craig turned his head and stared at Tweek. "I don't...want them to go through what I went through. Getting hurt...making people worry...and...having to lie all the time."

"Yeah...but unlike your friends...they can't see guys like me...only you can," Tweek said.

"I know..." Craig sighed.

"Yep...and that just means...you can protect them from any criticism," Tweek said.

"What?" Craig looked up.

Tweek sighed, "come on...I thought you were a bit more smarter than this," Tweek groaned, "what I'm saying...if you know what's going to happen...you can easily prevent it from happening to your friends. You can save them from getting hurt. Make sure they don't make the same mistake as you," Tweek said.

"But...but I-"

"Hush," Tweek said, "even though what happened to you was hell...at least you're not alone anymore, right? You got the guys...you got ghosts friends...and in a way...you got me," Tweek smiled.

"...." Craig looked down. "As if I want you in my life," Craig said.

"Hmph, suit yourself, flesh bag," Tweek said as he hovered above him.

Craig sighed and stared up at him. As much as he hate to admit it, Tweek was right. He didn't want to ruin anything for his friends, and if they want to be friends with a ghost like Tweek, then maybe Craig needs to let them and just protect them from whatever might happen. Craig won't let them suffer what he went through.

"Thanks," Craig said.

Tweek smiled, "you know...now that we're getting all buddy buddy now...mind telling me a bit about that fashion boutique idea of yours?"

"Oh god," Craig groaned.

"Clyde already filled me in on why you're trying to get that money and when I read your text from your mom, but I'm curious on how this plan of yours is going to go," Tweek said.

"What's not to get? I simply get the boutique, I get the materials I need for the store, I start designing clothes, and I tell my mom that I dropped out of school because I already started my dream store. Simple!"

"Sure...that's so simple," Tweek said.

"Oh what do you know, you're dead," Craig sighed.

Tweek flinched, "...yeah...I'm dead....but that doesn't mean I never had aspirations," Tweek said.

Craig was silent as he stared up at Tweek. "Tweek...how did you die?"

Tweek froze. He went completely silent. His face grew dark as he landed back on the ground. "I....I...." Tweek didn't continue, he went completely silent.

Craig panicked, he suddenly remembered Freddy telling him that Tweek didn't speak or move for weeks because of that question. Craig quickly tried to change the subject, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you."

"...." Tweek doesn't look at him, he simply stared at the ground. There was no emotions in his eyes at all. Just a blank stare.

Craig sighed as he thought of something to snap Tweek out of it, he suddenly remembered how Martha use to tell her stories about herself, though Craig remembered that most of her stories were painful for her, the only reason she told some of them was to help Craig not be scared of her.

"...You know...when I young...when I started realizing ghosts were real...and stuff...I actually thought of gouging my eyes out," Craig said. Tweek flinched, he turned his head to stare at Craig. Craig swallowed as he remembered the day he got home after getting the shit beaten out of him by a few older kids, but as he saw Tweek moving again, Craig continued, "I remember...grabbing a pair of scissors from the counter that my mom left...and quickly headed to my room. S-since my mom was busy talking to her friends on the phone, she didn't see me. I-I remember...taking the scissors...putting them close to my face...m-my hands were shaking as I grabbed those pair of scissors. I placed them so close to my face. Inch by inch...I was about to...a-about t-to-"

"Stop. Please...stop," Tweek stared at me with tears in his eyes, "please don't say anymore...I can see how much pain you're in from even mentioning it, so please...stop," Tweek said.

Craig did, he didn't even realized he was crying. Craig wiped his eyes before taking a deep breath. "Sorry to make you worry like that," Craig said.

"....Yeah well...thank you for telling me...I must have really been out of it," Tweek said.

"...Why don't you want to talk about it?" Craig asked.

"...It was too...terrible...what happened to me...I..I don't want to bring it up...ever," Tweek said.

Craig stared at him before nodding. He decided to change the topic to something less depressing, he didn't want to make Tweek feel bad anymore, if anything...he wanted to befriend the ghost. "So...what did you plan to be before all of this?" Craig asked.

Tweek looked at him before smiling. He sat down on the bench next to Craig and told him.

The two spent the entire evening chatting and getting to know each other. The two became close after that.

* * *

The next couple of days had been successful for the group. With Tweek's help, Craig's ability to see ghosts, and the guys strategy plan, they all managed to get a good chunk of the ghost living in the mansion. However, once it was Saturday and Ms. Lang will be coming back by the end of the day, the boys were running out of time.

"Tweek, did we get all of them yet?" Craig asked.

"Um...almost, we still got two guys in the pool, but those assholes are too stubborn to leave," Tweek groaned.

"Shit, we got ghosts in the pool, but Tweek said they are really hard to convince," Craig said.

"C-c-crap...and M-Ms. Lang w-will be here in two hours! W-what are we g-g-going to do!?" Jimmy exclaimed.

"Hm...I think I got an idea, fellas," Token said.

After conversing, the group quickly headed towards the pool and Craig saw two athletic looking men swimming in the pool. "Token, you ready?"

"Yep," Token said as he took off his clothes until he was in his boxers.

"Alright," Craig walked over towards the pool. "Gentlemen, may I have a word with you two?"

"Look Francis, it's that flesh bag that's telling our fellow neighbors to leave."

"Why yes Frederick, and I assume he's here to persuade us," Francis said.

"As if we'll leave that easily, this pool was built specifically for us! Like hell we'll leave this pool behind and let...strangers use it."

Craig rolled his eyes, it was one of those snobby ghosts, great. "Look guys, I'm sure if you all move on, there will be a better pool up there, a pool that fits all of your criteria," Craig said.

"As if, this pool ten months to make! We pout our own sweat and blood into making it!" Frederick exclaimed.

"Quite literally on the blood part since we both died from construction." Francis said.

"Right before it was finished," Frederick said, "so if you think you can persuade us to leave what we worked on hard for many years, you have another thing coming, buster!"

"...Hm...well how about this? If my friend here can beat you in a swimming competition, then you two have to leave, but if you guys win, you can stay and we won't bother you anymore," Craig said.

"Him? Your black friend there?"

"You have got to be kidding me, people like him aren't allowed to swim!"

Craig flinched at the racist remarks that the two ghosts were spouting out, but luckily for him, these racial remarks just might give them a better advantage.

"Then this should be very easy for you, right? What do you say, fellas? We have a deal?"

The two men looked at each other before smirking.

"Oh this will be so easy," Francis said as he got out of the pool and stood by the edge.

"Yes, we can easily beat that black fellow, Francis," Frederick said as he also stood by the edge.

Token stood by the edge of the pool next to the two. Francis, who was next to Token, glared at him in disgust.

"Boy, please step a bit farther away, I don't want your filth getting anywhere near me."

Because their voice was projected enough for Token to hear, Token scoffed, "oh I'm so going to enjoy this," Token said as he readied himself.

"On your marks...get set...go!" Craig exclaimed.

All three jumped into the pool and started swimming, however, Token was swimming much faster than the other two and was already in the lead. So When Token managed to touch the wall at the other end and has already past the other two swimmers, it was obvious who was going to win.

"Come on, Toke...he's...he's winning...right?" Clyde asked.

"Yes," Craig said as he watch as all three swimmers were getting close to the wall.

With his hand stretched out, Token managed to touch the wall and beat the two swimmers. "Yes!"

"W-what!? Us? B-beaten by a black fellow!?"

Craig quickly helped Token out of the pool before looking back at the ghosts, "It's the twenty first century, gentleman, either get use to it or leave. Your choice," Craig said.

"You were amazing, Toke...I think..I wasn't sure since I couldn't see the ghosts, but still!" Clyde exclaimed.

"I-it's a g-good thing you t-took s-s-swimming classes in s-s-school," Jimmy said.

"Yep," Token smiled as he dried himself off with his towel.

"Alright gentleman, it's time you two leave," Tweek said.

"I can't believe you're helping these...flesh bags, Tweek," Francis said.

"What can I say, they're way more fun than you stuck up pricks," Tweek said.

"Yeah but now you're going to be all alone," Frederick said.

Tweek froze. "W-what do you mean?"

"You idiot, don't you remember? When you died, we allowed you in, even if you didn't belong here," Francis said.

"Exactly, but now that you up and rid of us, whether those flesh bags get rid of you or not, you're going to be all alone while those flesh bags go back home," Frederick said.

Craig overheard their conversation before stepping between them. "We will not let Tweek be alone, assholes. He's our friend," Craig said. Tweek stared at him, shocked.

"Oh! Are those pricks talking bad about Tweek!?" Clyde ran up and stood next to Craig, "Craig's right, we won't leave him alone, and we definitely won't get rid of him once we get the money, so you two can go suck it!"

"T-t-that's right, Tweek is o-o-one of us!" Jimmy said.

"He's our friend now, so you can just go and move on already," Token said.

"W-well I...I never!" Francis exclaimed.

"Hmph, come Francis, let's leave. This new generation just isn't my cup of tea anymore," Frederick said.

"Quite, Frederick," Francis said.

The two ghosts started glowing until they started to fade. Soon, they disappeared and will never be seen again.

"And another thing, if you two think you're so high and might, why don't you just shove all that bigotry right up your-"

"Clyde, they're gone," Craig said.

"Oh..." Clyde said as he calmed down.

"F-f-fellas...w-we did it!" Jimmy said.

"Hell yeah we did!" Token exclaimed.

"And just in time too! Come on, we better go wait for Ms. Lang to arrive," Clyde said.

Everyone agreed and started leaving the pool, however Craig noticed that Tweek didn't follow.

"Tweek? You alright?"

"I just...I didn't expect you guys to...stand up for me like that...thank you," Tweek said.

Craig smiled, "like we said...you're our friend," Craig said.

"Yeah but...those guys are right in a way...I'm just a ghost...and there's no reason for you all to want me around anymore. Once you guys get paid...there's no reason for me to be around...right?" Tweek said.

Craig stood there, he stared at Tweek before walking towards him. "You idiot...you think we're letting you go that easily?" Craig asked.

"Huh?"

"Dude...when we say your're our friend, we mean it. We don't leave friends behind," Craig said. Tweek stared into Craig's blue eyes, he felt himself going warm all of a sudden, which was odd for a ghost. "Besides...I um...I..." Craig blushed in embarrassment, "I like having you...around. Even if you're annoying...it's nice...to have someone that can help see ghosts with me...even if you are one," Craig coughed awkwardly.

"....Craig," Tweek smiled as he stared at the flesh bag in front of him. "Thank you," Tweek said.

Craig nodded, "you're welcome," Craig said. He cleared his throat, "come on, let's go meet up with the guys. Ms. Lang will be here soon."

Tweek smiled and followed Craig out of the pool.

After the group talked to Ms. Lang, she was happy to hear that all the ghosts were gone, the group made sure not to mention Tweek, even if Tweek technically didn't belong in the mansion.

As promised, Ms. Lang gave the boys a thousand dollars for their work, two hundred fifty each. After paying the group, she told the boys to pack up and leave since she needs to get the place ready for her client the next day. The boys did so and headed upstairs to their rooms.

Craig stared at the check in his hands, he smile himself. "Thank god..."

"Nice...your plan went well," Tweek said.

"Tweek," Craig looked over at Tweek and smiled at him.

"You sure seem happy," Tweek smiled as he sat down on the bed.

"Yeah well who wouldn't? I'm going to get that boutique and I'll stop lying to my mom, simple," Craig said.

"...Will it though?"

"Huh?"

"Craig...you may have made one lie become a truth...but...you still lied to her. You still haven't told her what you've been really doing...you still haven't told her about your other job or how you got this money. Even if you end a lie...you still lied."

"....." Craig looked down and stared at the money. He wanted to tell Tweek off and that he was wrong, but thinking about it, he couldn't because he knew that Tweek was right. "What...what am I suppose to do then?" Craig asked.

Tweek looked down before letting out a sigh, "tell her the truth. I know it'll be scary...and she might be sad, but if your mom loves you...and she realize that you're an adult that makes choices for himself...she'll get over it."

"And if she doesn't?" Craig asked.

"...Then at least you freed yourself from your lies," Tweek said.

Craig looked down, he stared at the check in his hand, he thought about all the stuff he told his mom for years, how he pretended that he doesn't see his "imaginary friends" anymore. How he continued to think that everything will be okay...even though all these lies were affecting him.

Craig stood up and finished packing his belongings, he walked over towards the door and was about to leave, but before he left, he turned back to look at Tweek. "Tweek...thank you," Craig said. Tweek smiled. Craig smiled back, "come on, let's go. You're really going to like our apartment, it's not very big, but still nice," Craig said as he walked out of the door.

Tweek's smile faltered as he hesitantly followed Craig out of the door.

Once the group met at the first floor, Ms. Lang smiled and thanked them once again.

"Boys, thank you again for this. If I ever have another ghost problem in any of the other houses I'm selling, I won't hesitate to call you again," Ms. Lang said.

"Sweet! Mind leaving that on our web page, it'll really help us get more customers," Clyde said.

"No problem," Ms. Lang said, she was about to leave, but stopped when she remembered something, "um...by the way...have you boys seen a ceramic pot anywhere?" The boys flinched.

"Pot? What pot? I never seen no pot," Clyde said.

"Really? I could have sworn a fifty thousand pot was placed right over there near that window," Ms. Lang said.

"Sorry, didn't see anything, must have been placed somewhere else or something," Token said.

"You sure, cause-"

"W-we didn't see no p-pot," Jimmy said.

"Oh...um...okay. I guess I misplaced it somewhere...I'll look for it later," Ms. Lang said. "Thank you again. Goodbye," Ms. Lang smiled.

"Bye!" The boys said and watched her leave.

"...Oh man, I almost pissed myself," Clyde said.

"F-f-fifty thousand!? How c-an a p-pot be w-worth that m-much!?" Jimmy exclaimed.

"This is why I told you fools to not mess with that pot," Token groaned.

Craig shook his head as started leaving the mansion, but stopped when he looked back at Tweek. "Tweek, come on. We're leaving," Craig said.

"...." Tweek didn't move, he stood in place, watching them with a sad look in his eyes.

"...Tweek?" Craig dropped his bag and walked over towards the ghost. "Come on, let's go," Craig said.

Tweek smiled, he shook his head, "I...I can't," Tweek said.

"What do you mean you can't?" Craig laughed, "if you're afraid, don't. We'll be there by your side...well..at I will," Craig said.

"Guys, what's going on?" Clyde asked.

"Yeah, what's the hold up?"

"I-is T-Tweek c-coming?"

"....Craig...I can't go with you," Tweek said.

Craig froze, "why not?"

Tweek smiled, but doesn't say his reason, "Craig...thank you...all of you for being my friends. It means a lot....especially since you all are actually are from this century and everything," Tweek said, "and as much as I would love to live with you all in your apartment...I can't...not when...not when I can't even move on," Tweek said.

"Tweek...we can help you...we can...help you...move on," Craig said.

Tweek shook his head, "that's sweet...but you can't...this one is too hard for you to handle," Tweek said.

"Tweek...."

Tweek smiled and suddenly leaned forwards. Craig's eyes widened when he realized that Tweek's lips were against him. Tweek pulled back. "...Damn..." Tweek was crying, "if only ghosts could actually kiss flesh bags like you...oh how amazing it would feel," Tweek said as he placed his hand on Craig's cheek, "if only I were alive...or if you were dead...this would feel...nice," Tweek said, wiping his tears away.

Craig touched his lips, though he didn't feel anything, his heart was racing nonetheless. "Tweek..."

"Thanks for everything you guys...I'm going to miss you," Tweek said. Tweek started to fade away.

Craig's eyes widened. "Wait! At least tell me why you can't move on! Why can't you move on, Tweek!?" Craig exclaimed, tears filling his eyes.

Tweek stared at him, his eyes were glossed over as he stared at Craig. His mouth was moving before he vanished. Craig's eyes widened.

"Until the person who killed me is dead or behind bars, I can never move on."

* * *

 

The drive back home was long and silent. None of the boys spoke, they couldn't. When they finally reached the familiar building of their apartment, the boys got out of their van and were glad to be home.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm craving for some tacos tonight! Let's have Taco Saturday!" Clyde said.

"I'm up for anything," Token said.

"M-me too," Jimmy said.

"Craig, you in?"

"...." Craig didn't reply, he couldn't get what Tweek told him out of his mind.

"Craig?"

"C-Craig?"

"...Come on man...I know...what happened with Tweek didn't work on and all...but you know...it wouldn't have worked. He's a ghost, we're ghost hunters, we get rid of ghosts, and he...well...he..wouldn't be able to pay rent," Clyde said.

Token sighed and nudged Clyde in the stomach, "not helping," Token said.

"Ow..."

"Look man...I'm sad that Tweek didn't come too, but that's life, we can't change Tweek's mind," Token said.

"....Yeah...I know," Craig sighed.

"Good, now why don't we head up and make those tacos!?" Clyde said.

"H-hell yeah!"

"....Actually...I think I'm going to visit my folks," Craig said.

"Now? It's kinda getting late," Token said.

"I just...I think I need to talk to my mom and tell her the truth..." Craig said.

"...Did Tweek tell you to?" Token asked. Craig doesn't say anything, he simply nodded. "...Here," Token handed Craig the keys to the van. "Tell your mom we said hi," Token said.

"Thanks Toke," Craig said as he got back inside the van and started to drive to his old house.

"...So...can we still do Taco Saturday?" Clyde asked as he watched Craig drive off.

"Yes Clyde, we can have Taco Saturday," Token sighed.

"Good...because all this drama is getting to me now," Clyde said.

"Y-you and me b-both buddy," Jimmy sighed.

In two hours or less, Craig managed to get back to South Park. He drove around the familiar small town until he reached his old family home. Craig quickly parked the van and took a deep breath as he headed towards the familiar house and knocked on the door.

His mother was the one to answer.

"Craig, what a surprise! What are you doing here, honey?" Craig's mother asked as she hugged her son.

"Hi mom," Craig smiled as he hugged her in return.

"Well come on in," Craig's mother said as she opened the door wide and allowed Craig to come in.

"Where's dad?" Craig asked.

"Still at work, honestly...that man needs to get a paid vacation," Craig's mother sighed.

"And Tricia?"

"Sleeping over at a friend's house, they have a project and need to get it done by Monday," Mrs. Tucker said.

"I see," Craig said.

"So dear, what brings you here?" Mrs. Tucker smiled, "oh and do you want anything to drink? I know it must have taken you awhile to get here and all."

"...Mom...we need to talk," Craig said.

Mrs. Tucker froze, "a-alright dear....what is it? You look pale," Mrs. Tucker said.

The two sat down on the couch, and Craig was having a hard time getting his words out. "Mom...I-"

"You didn't impregnate someone...did you?"

"What? Of course not," Craig said.

Mrs. Tucker sighed, "oh thank god...I got worried there. I was not ready to be a grandmother yet," Mrs. Tucker said.

"Mom...I'm gay," Craig said.

"Yes, but you are a college kid and you know how college kids get. You could have gotten drunk and...who knows...accidentally thought a cute girl was a cute guy instead, then you two-"

"Mom...please stop talking and hear me out," Craig sighed.

"...Well what is it?"

"....I lied to you," Craig said.

"Huh?"

Craig sighed, "I lied. I..I'm not in school anymore...I dropped out on the first month," Craig said.

"Oh dear...why didn't you say anything?" Mrs. Tucker asked.

"Because I thought you'd be disappointed in me...especially when you and dad worked so hard in helping me pay for that school," Craig said.

"Well...why did you drop out?"

"It just...it didn't feel right, that's why. I felt...like an outcast in there. I didn't feel right about anything they taught me...and none of the assholes there were particularly nice to me too," Craig said. "But...if I told you I dropped out...I was worried you'd be mad at me," Craig said.

"...Craig," Mrs. Tucker suddenly punched her son in the arm.

"Ow!"

"Of course I would be mad, but I would have understood and got over it already, but now I'm twice as mad. Way to go young man," Mrs. Tucker sighed.

"I'm sorry," Craig said.

"Craig...college isn't for everyone, and if you didn't feel like it was right for you, there's no shame in that. I just want you to be happy and follow the path you want to choose. You're an adult now, it's up to you to make your own choices after all," Mrs. Tucker said.

"....Mom," Craig felt like crying as he stared at his mother, "I...I have something else to say as well," Craig said.

"What is it this time?"

"...Remember when I said I stopped seeing my imaginary friends?" Craig felt his tears falling, "I lied...I never...I never stopped seeing them...only because...they weren't from my mind, mom...they weren't imaginary friends...t-they weren't," Craig said.

"W-what? what do you mean?"

"They were ghosts mom...dead people...I can see dead people...and I know you're probably hurt that I lied to you about that...but...I was so worried you weren't going to believe me...I was so worried that you'd think I was crazy...that I would hurt you again," Craig sniffled.

"Craig....please don't do this...if...if you're still seeing things, we can take you to a doctor and maybe they can-"

"Grandma said she saw you breaking her vase."

Mrs. Tucker froze. "What?"

"Grandma said...you broke the vase and blamed it on the cat that Tricia brought in."

"...How did you...were you...did you see me?"

"Mom...how could I have seen you when I was sleeping over at Clyde's house for a week?"

"But...how...your grandmother was...dead when...when..."

"Mom...I'm not crazy....please believe me...please," Craig sniffled.

"....." Mrs. Tucker stared at her son, tears falling from her eyes as she stared at her son. "Oh my god...you really can...you really can see ghosts," Mrs. Tucker said.

"Yes...I can...and I'm so sorry for lying to you all these years...I just didn't want to see you hurt anymore," Craig sniffled.

"Oh baby, come here," Mrs. Tucker hugged her son as she wept on his shoulder, "I'm so sorry for not believing you...I'm so sorry...the medication...the treatments...everything...I'm so sorry."

"No mom...don't say that...you were just worried...I would be too if I were you," Craig said as he hugged her tightly.

Mrs. Tucker sniffled as she pulled away and wiped her tears, "how...how long were you able to see them?" Mrs. Tucker asked.

"....Since I was born I guess," Craig said.

"Does...does anyone know?"

"Only Clyde, Token, and Jimmy...and...maybe a few of our clients," Craig said.

"Clients?"

"Yeah...it was Clyde's idea....we're...ghost hunters," Craig said.

"...Oh Craig..."

"I know...I know...but it was fun...hanging out with the guys all the time...doing something that I could be useful in. It was so much fun," Craig smiled.

"....Are you happy?" Mrs. Tucker asked.

Craig stared at her, he smiled, "I am. I'm very happy."

Mrs. Tucker smiled, "then that's all I could ask for," Mrs. Tucker kissed her son on the head. "So...how much do you earn on this ghost hunting job of yours?"

"Kinda varies depending on the client or the situation, but...with the job I recently finished...I might still able to open up my own boutique and...start designing my own clothes line?" Craig smiled.

"That's great dear," Mrs. Tucker smiled.

"Yeah, and it's all thanks to the guys and...and...." Craig's smile faltered when he thought about Tweek.

"Honey?"

"...It's just...there's this...ghost...I met recently...he's weird and shit...but...he's sweet...helpful...pretty wise...and...I don't know...he makes me feel weird whenever I think about him," Craig said.

"Oh honey...don't tell me you fell in love with a ghost," Mrs. Tucker said.

"What!? Of course not, there's no way I would..." Craig thought of Tweek, how his smile was radiant, how his eyes were a lovely green, and how Craig's heart raced when Tweek attempted to kiss him. "...Oh fuck," Craig sighed.

"Well...they did say that love is unpredictable...never knew it would be this unpredictable," Mrs. Tucker chuckled.

"Yeah...but it's not going to work," Craig said.

"Why's that dear?"

"It's just...Tweek is going through something...and I want to help him, but I don't know how...I don't know what to start with," Craig said.

"Well...did he leave any hints?"

"Not really, all he said that...that...." Craig's eyes widened.

_"Until the person who killed me is dead or behind bars, I can never move on."_

_"It seemed there were a bunch of murders that occurred nearby...not exactly inside the mansion."_

_"We actually have an errand boy that can leave the mansion any time he wants since he didn't die inside the building."_

_"Not really ghosts that died outside a house are able to go anywhere, while those who does die inside a building are trapped there unless they possessed a personal item that is taken from one place to another."_

_Not sure. He doesn't live in the mansion or anything, but whenever we asked him how he died...he goes silent for weeks, not saying a word or moving."_

_"When you died, we allowed you in, even if you didn't belong here."_

_"It means a lot....especially since you all are actually are from this century and everything."_

_"There were a bunch of murders that occurred nearby."_

_"He didn't die inside the building."_

_"When you died, we allowed you in, even if you didn't belong here."_

_"He doesn't live in the mansion or anything."_

_"Until the person who killed me is dead or behind bars, I can never move on."_

Craig gasped as his entire body started to shake. "The murders..."

"M-murders? What are you talking about?"

"I...I can't explain right now mom, I need to go," Craig said.

"Craig, what's going on? Baby?"

"Mom, whatever happens...I love you, dad, grandma, and Tricia. Just know that...and by the way, grandma says the remote is hidden underneath the couch. Anyways, I got to go, bye!" Craig ran out of the door in a flash.

"...G-grandma?" Mrs. Tucker looked around the room, she felt a chill down her spine.

Once Craig was back outside, he quickly ran towards the van and got in. As he was starting the van up, he pulled out his phone and dialed Token up.

"Hello?"

"Token, I need you to search up the murders that occurred near that mansion," Craig said.

"What? Why?"

"Just do it, I'm going back to the mansion and need your help, all of you," Craig said.

"Just what exactly are you planning, Tucker?" Token asked.

"Something dangerous and stupid," Craig said. Craig finally started up the van and started heading back to the apartment to pick up the guys. "Whatever happens...I need to save Tweek."

"...Alright...we'll help," Token said.

"Wait, does that mean Taco Saturday is cancelled?"

* * *

It was already midnight when the guys made it back to the mansion. Since there was no cars or anything, they assumed no one was around. However, that didn't matter to Craig since he didn't need someone alive here, he needed to talk to the dead.

"What do you got for me, Toke?" Craig said as he put on his bullet proof vest before putting on his hoodie. He grabbed his flashlight and was ready to leave the van.

"Okay...so...the murder first occurred on June six in 2013. The bodies were found to be all mangled up and distorted, and all of them occurred nearby this mansion. Some of the bodies were found on the property, but never found inside. The murders continued on until January eighteen in 2016. A group of college students were taking a tour of the mansion when the murderer came and killed one of them when they wandered outside the mansion, the group found the body and managed to escape before the murderer could take them. Police searched everywhere, but weren't able to find the murderer."

"Tweek..." So that's why Tweek couldn't move on, why he was staying in the mansion. He tried to escape, but the murderer caught him before he could reach the group that were inside.

"Probably, they never said the victim's name for the family's safety and everything, but if what you're saying is true...then Tweek is the one who died when those college kids came here."

"Oh man...and you're planning to go out there when the murderer could be lurking around!?" Clyde exclaimed.

"Relax, the murderer hasn't killed anyone ever since the college students escaped, it's one of the reasons why the case went cold and why that murderer is still at large," Token explained.

"Y-yeah, so there's a chance we w-w-won't bump into the murderer," Jimmy said, "T-they probably moved on and left this a-a-area already."

"Still...if something does happen, I'll at least have some sort of safety on me," Craig said.

"Ha, and you guys said buying a bullet proof vest was a dumb idea," Clyde said.

"In this situation, maybe, but when we're hunting ghosts, it is."

"H-how would g-g-ghost even shooooot us? T-they can't e-e-even hold guns," Jimmy said.

"Well I don't know, I'm not the ghost expert here!" Clyde said.

"Guys. Focus," Craig said. "I need you to have my back and watch out for me. If you see anyone, I need you guys to warn me," Craig said.

"We will," Token said.

"Y-you sure you don't w-want us to come w-w-with you?" Jimmy asked.

"I'm pretty sure the people that died here are too scared. They'll never show themselves if they see more than one person," Craig said.

"Alright...but maybe you can ask Tweek to help you?" Clyde asked.

Craig froze, "...no...I can't do this to him. I just can't," Craig said.

"....Alright, but be careful," Token said.

"Got it," Craig opened the door of the van. He took a deep breath as he left the van. "Keep your walkie talkies on, got it?"

"Got it," Clyde said as he held up his walkie talkie.

Craig took a deep breath before walking where Token said the victims were located when they were found. With his flashlight, Craig looked around through the dark, hoping, preying, that he would see someone that could help him.

"Hey Craig!"

"Shit!" Craig jumped, but realized it was just Clyde talking to him on the walkie talkie. "What? You see someone?"

"No, just checking to see if this thing works or not, sorry," Clyde said.

Craig wanted to strangle him, "just call for me if you see anything, got it?"

"Got it," Clyde said before he went silent.

Craig let out a sigh and pulled up his hoodie a bit when the night wind started to pick up. Craig soon found the spot that was shown on the picture that Token showed him. He didn't see anyone around, but he knew that they were here, they were just scared.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Craig called out. There was no response, but Craig wasn't giving up. Licking his lips, he continued, "I know you're all the victims of that murder that happened here...and...and I want to help, so please...show yourselves...and help me find who murdered all of you!" Craig called out. No response, "...I know you're scared...but if you continue to be scared...that killer will never be caught...so please...if you're here...let me help you catch him...I'll make sure he never harms another soul," Craig said.

Craig waited and waited, but after a few minutes, heads started popping out of the ground. Craig found himself surrounded by all the victims that were gruesomely murdered all those years ago.

"You'll...put him away?" A young girl asked, staring at Craig with dead eyes.

Craig gulped, but nodded, "I will...I just need to know who he is...and where is he," Craig said.

"...Behind you," the girl said.

Craig's eyes widened, before he could turn his head, he felt something hitting him in the back before he collapsed and was unconscious. Before everything blacked out, he saw all the ghosts cowering in fear as they stared at a tall, hooded figure that hovered over him.

"Tweek...."

* * *

"....It's already been an hour...I'm getting worried," Clyde said.

"I'm sure everything is fine..." Token said, "just wait. If something happened, Craig would have told us."

"Still...it never took him this long to talk to someone," Clyde said.

"....H-hey fellas...what's this here?" Jimmy showed the guys the schematics of the mansion. He was pointing to a small little square that was a good distance away from the mansion.

"Huh...it looks like a shack or something," Token said.

"Shack? Why's that there?"

"It's usually where gardening tools are. It's also the living quarters for the gardener or the help," Token explained.

"S-strange...is it me o-or is this shack located pretty far from the mansion?"

"Now that you mentioned it...it kinda is...heck...I bet anyone would have missed it or assumed it wasn't part of the mansion or anything," Token said.

"Yeah...and look at how close it is to where all those people died. Boy, I wouldn't want to be the guy who witnessed all those murders as soon as he stepped out," Clyde said.

"...."

"...."

"...Oh shit!"

"T-that's why the m-murderer was never found! He was hiding i-in the shack!"

"And why the murders occurred outside the mansion, and why none of the staff were questioned because they were all working inside the day of the murders!"

"All except for...o-one..." Clyde said.

"Craig!" Token quickly grabbed the walkie talkie, "Craig! Are you there!? Hello!?" Nothing but static greeted the boys.

"Oh shit! Oh shit! What do we do!?"

"We gotta go save him," Token said.

"Are you nuts!?"

"Either we save him or he's dead, your choice," Token said.

"...Tweek! We gotta get Tweek!"

"How is Tweek going to help us, he's dead!"

"Yeah, but maybe he can use his ghost powers or something? We gotta try something!"

"Shit. Fine! We'll go get Tweek. Jimmy, you stay here in the van. If something happens, I want you to at least escape and get the police," Token said.

"G-got it," Jimmy said.

"Make sure the lock the doors and don't let anyone in unless it's us," Token said.

"Oh man!" Clyde exclaimed.

Both Clyde and Token left the van and rushed towards the mansion, they could only hope they weren't too late.

Inside the mansion, Tweek was roaming around the Victorian mansion, sighing as he has nothing to do. Now that all the ghosts were gone, he was feeling lonely. He wondered if he should actually leave the mansion and maybe hang out with the other victims that were murdered as well, but then went against the idea since he remembered the last time he visited that place.

"...Craig..." Tweek sighed, already missing his favorite flesh bag. How he wanted to see him again, how he wanted to see his smile, or the way he sleeps, or how he gets easily embarrassed whenever his friends talk about him. Tweek already missed everyone and wishes to see them again.

"Tweek!" Tweek flinched when his named was being called from the first floor. Tweek hurried over there and was surprised to see Clyde and Token.

"Clyde? Token?" Tweek muttered as he flew towards them.

"Tweek! We need your help!" Clyde exclaimed, "Craig was trying to help find that murderer for you, but we think we know who did it and now we think Craig is in trouble!" Clyde exclaimed.

"W-what!?" Tweek screamed so loud that everything started to shake, alerting the two boys.

"Tweek, I know you're upset right now, but we gotta hurry and save Craig!" Token said.

Tweek projected his voice so the two could hear him. "How!?"

"I don't know man, maybe use your ghost powers or whatever!? We don't have the time to discuss this, Craig could die!"

"Craig could..." If Tweek still had his heart, it would have stopped beating at that moment. Tweek looked around, trying to see what he could do. He then looked at the boys and thought of something. "Clyde, forgive me for what I'm about to do, but this is necessary!"

"W-what are you-" Before Clyde could say anything, Tweek went inside Clyde's body and started to possess him. Clyde twitch and started to spas out as Tweek entered his body.

Token watched in horror as he could do nothing but watch his friend convulsing right before him. "Dude?"

"Nnnnnggg! Mmmmm....aaaaaahhhhh!" Clyde screamed in pain before his body stopped. "...Tweek...what did you do?"

"I'm sorry! I had to borrow your body!" Tweek said from Clyde's mouth.

"...T-Tweek?" Token stared at Clyde who now has Tweek inside of him. "This is freaky..."

"What's more freaky is that I can see things I never thought I could see," Clyde said.

"Like what?"

"....Toke...I think I can see ghost...cause there's a ghost of a raccoon standing behind you."

"Oh...wow..."

"We don't have time for this, if we don't hurry, Craig is going to die!" Tweek exclaimed and started to control Clyde's body so they would start running.

"Oh man, this is so weird! Is this what Craig sees everyday!? No wonder he's always depressed looking!"

"Clyde, shut up!" Tweek exclaimed as they kept running.

Back with Craig, his hands were tied up, his hoodie and vest were off, and he was laying on the ground while the killer was busy digging up a grave. 

Craig finally came to a few minutes later, but could do nothing as he watched the killer continue to dig up the hole.

"Please...don't do this," Craig begged.

"...." The killer didn't say anything, he continued to dig the hole.

"Why are you doing this? What did any of those people do to you? What did Tweek do to you?" Craig asked.

The man sighed before turning around. Craig paled when he saw the scars all over his face. "You know how they treated a guy like me back in those days...when those stinking rich folk use to live in this big old mansion? Garbage. They even forced me to live all the way over in that shack...tending to the garden, caring for the grass and plants that are around here...and do I get a thank you in return? None. My papa never got one, his papa never got one, and so on and on."

"So why the murders?" Craig asked.

"Let's just say...after that fire that happened in 1990, me being the few to survived, my face was all messed up. My head wasn't right after that day...and I got angry whenever people stared at me...stared at me with faces of disgust and fear....those people..heh...thinking they're so high and might just because their faces aren't as messed up as mine...well...I thought I make them just as ugly as me," the man said.

Craig paled, "and...that college kid...in 2016?" Craig asked.

"...Well...after the first few murders...you grow to have a taste for it...and seeing as that kid was walking around outside...I thought...why not satisfy my cravings?" The man smirked.

"You...you piece of shit! You murdered Tweek because of that!?"

"Tweek huh? Hm..." The man stared at Craig with suspicious eyes. "I've been watching you boys inside that mansion for the past couple of days...wondering why that realtor lady hired you...let ask...are ghosts real?" The man asked.

Craig stared at him, his heart was racing, but seeing all the victims surrounding them, looking terrified, yet at the same time wanting to do something to help Craig, but not sure what, Craig felt utter hatred towards this man, the man who killed Tweek.

"Yes...they're real," Craig said.

"...." The man smiled. "Well then...to all those people I killed before...hope you're watching...you'll soon have a new friend to join you," the man took out a knife and bend down. The man smirked as he placed the knife close to Craig's chest. Slowly moving the knife, the man cut Craig all the way to his stomach. It wasn't a deep cut, but it was still painful nonetheless.

"Gah! A-ah!" Craig scream in pain as the knife cut his skin open. Tears filled his eyes as he begged for any of the ghosts to help him, but they didn't know what to do, they were scared just as much as he was.

"Aw? Not going to call them ghost friends of yours to help? Or is it because they can't?" The man smirked as he continued to slice Craig across his chest.

"Gah!" Craig hissed through his teeth as he tries to get the ropes around his hands to come off, but they were tied on very tightly. "P-please! Help!" Craig begged the ghosts to help him.

"W-what can we do!? He's alive...." the ghost girl quivered in fear.

"Your time is up, ghost boy," the man plunged the knife into Craig's side before pulling the knife out. Craig was shaking and crying as his blood started pouring out. The man then pointed the knife to his chest. "Say hi to that college boy for me," the man smirked. Before he could plunge the knife into Craig's heart, the man was suddenly lifted in the air and thrown across from Craig.

Craig looked around, wondering if the ghosts did it, but he suddenly hear a familiar voice.

"Craig!"

"T-Tweek?" Craig gasped as he turned his head. He did see Tweek, but he was inside Clyde's body. "Clyde? Token?"

"Oh god," Token gasped as he quickly grabbed Craig's hoodie and put pressure on Craig's stab wound on the side of his body.

"Oh my god, Craig!" Clyde exclaimed as he lifted his friend up. "Oh my god!"

"We...we gotta go..now," Craig gasped.

"Come on Clyde, help me carry him!" Token exclaimed.

"Look out!" Tweek exclaimed.

Token jumped back when the man got back up and tried to slash at him. The man then kicked Token in the chest before stomping down on him.

"Let him go!" Tweek exclaimed.

"And what are you going to do?" The man said as he pushed against Token's chest and grabbed Craig by the back of his neck.

"I said...let him go!" Tweek's voice roared. He lifted up his hands and pushed the killer away from Token and Craig.

The man grunted in pain, but kept himself from moving away any further. "Ugh...I see...so ghost boy was telling the truth...ghost really do exist," the man smirked.

"Token, get Craig out of here!" Tweek exclaimed.

"What about you!?" Token exclaimed.

"Toke, just get Craig out, Tweek and I can handle him!" Clyde exclaimed.

"No...I'm going to handle him, you three get out of here!" Tweek exclaimed. He pushed Clyde away and Tweek was now out of Clyde's body.

"Okay...ow!" Clyde exclaimed after he fell back.

"Clyde! Let's go!" Token exclaimed.

The two quickly grabbed Craig and started running back to the van. Tweek watched as they left, glad they were safe.

"Ha ha ha...you think your friend is going to be okay? The nearest hospital is miles from here...and with how much blood he's losing...he's not going to make it," the killer said.

Tweek frowned, "shut up...what you did to me...to all of us! I won't let you take another life!" Tweek shouted as he continues to push the man down, but the man was resisting too much. Even if Tweek was using all of his energy, he can't do this alone.

"Face it kid...ghost boy is as good as dead...but," the man took a step forward, "at least..." he takes another step, "when he's dead...you and him can spend the rest of your life," he was now in front of Tweek, "together for all eternity."

Tweek tried to hold it, but couldn't anymore. He falls to the ground as he couldn't hold down the killer. "No..." Tweek gasped as he stared down at the man. "No!"

"Those boys are mine," the man took out his knife as he started chasing down the guys.

Tweek stared in horror as the man started leaving, he turned back to the other ghosts that were now cowering in fear. "You! What are you all doing!?" Tweek cried out. "Are you just going to let him take another life!?"

"We're...scared..." the little girl said.

"I know you are...I know you all are...so was I....but at least I tried something! If you all don't want him to take another life, then you all need to stand up for yourselves! Don't let your fears consume you!" Tweek exclaimed.

All the ghosts let out a wail. They all were frightened, but they also didn't want more lives to be taken.

"Please...help me save them. Save my friends...please. They came here to help us...it's time we save them," Tweek said.

"....."

Clyde and Token managed to reach the van. They quickly got inside and laid Craig down in the back seat.

"Oh shit man! He's bleeding way too much!" Clyde exclaimed.

"Jimmy, where's the nearest hospital at!?" Token exclaimed.

"A f-f-few m-miles east, b-b-but it's r-really far!" Jimmy exclaimed as he started the van.

"Just get us there quickly!" Token exclaimed.

"U-uh..guys...I don't think Tweek stopped the big scary man that well!" Clyde exclaimed.

"Ha ha ha," he killer chuckled as he made his way towards them.

"O-oh shit!" Jimmy quickly started up the van and quickly reversed he van, but the killer started running and before the boys knew it, he jumped over the van, punching at the glass.

"Oh god!" Clyde screamed.

"Get him off!" Token shouted.

"I-I'm trying!" Jimmy exclaimed as he tried to get the killer off by swerving the van around, but the killer wasn't budging one bit.

"We're going to die!" Clyde cried.

"That's right little fucks," The man managed to break the windshield and was about to grab Clyde, but suddenly, the man was lifted off of the van and thrown to the ground in front of the boys. "The fuck?"

"W-what's going on?" Token asked.

"...Holy shit," Craig lifted his head and his eyes widened when he saw what only he can see.

All the victims were merged together into a gigantic monster ghost thing. The creature let out a high pitch shriek, causing everyone to cover their ears.

"Craig!? What's going on!?" Clyde exclaimed.

Craig looked and saw Tweek standing in front of the ghostly beast. "Tweek..." Craig said.

"Go! Now!" Tweek exclaimed.

"Jimmy, punch it!" Token exclaimed.

Jimmy started the van and quickly got out of there. Craig watched as Tweek and the beast face the killer.

"What is this?" The man groaned.

"Judgement day," Tweek shouted, "for all the lives you've taken, for every family you ruined, no longer do we wish for you to be put away, now...we want to see you becoming one of us," Tweek said.

The beast roared as it grabbed the man and pushed him down. Many hands popped out and grabbed the man's body. They all started to pull at the man in different directions, causing the man to be in pain.

"Aaaahhhhh!"

"This is payback, you son of a bitch," Tweek said.

The hands continued to pull and pull, the wails became louder and angrier. With one final tug, the man split apart completely, blood and chunks poured out everywhere. The beast let what's left of the man go. Tweek stared at the mess in front of him before he fell to his knees and let out a choking sob.

It was over. The evil man was gone.

"Thank you," a voice from the beast said as it started to glow. The ghost separated as one by one, they all started to fade and disappear. They were finally free to leave, they can finally move on.

".....Craig," Tweek looked back and quickly flew towards the van. He can only hope it wasn't too late.

The boys continued driving, trying to get to the hospital as quickly as they can.

"Jimmy, hurry!" Token exclaimed.

"I-I-I'm g-going as fast as I c-c-can! T-there's n-not a l-l-lot of m-mileage o-on this t-thing!" Jimmy exclaimed.

"Craig! Hold on buddy, we'll get you help! Just don't go to the light!" Clyde exclaimed.

Craig was panting, his entire body was panting as his vision started to get blurry. "I can't...see that well you guys....it's getting....hard to breathe," Craig panted.

"Just hold on, Craig! Jimmy, hurry!"

"Shit! H-hold on!" Jimmy turned the wheel and went off the road a bit in hopes of making a shortcut.

"Guys...I don't think...I'm going to make it," Craig gasped.

"Don't you say that!" Clyde cried out, "you're going to make it! You're going to get help, you're going to see your family, you're going to open that boutique, and maybe even fuck a few guys on the way too!"

"Clyde!" Token exclaimed.

"...Guys...thanks...for being my friends....and never...thinking I was...w-weird," Craig panted, his eyes were getting heavy.

Token was crying as he held Craig's hand, "don't you fucking die on us, Craig. You're not leaving us! Not now! Not today! Think of everything we went through! You're not going to die right here!"

"T-think of us! Think of y-your mom! Think of Tweek!"

"Don't die, Craig! Please don't die!" Clyde cried.

"I...I...." Craig couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. His body was cold and he couldn't feel anything anymore. He just can't stay awake any longer.

"Craig! Craig!"

Before Craig closed his eyes, he swore he saw Tweek right before him. "...Tweek..."

Everything went black.

* * *

"Craig!"

It was so warm.

"Craig!"

Craig felt like he could sleep for ages.

"Craig!"

Yes, that was his name...but who was calling him.

"Craig! Wake up!"

Craig opened his eyes, he was surprised to find himself floating in a white abyss. He wasn't sure where he was or if any of this was real. When Craig looked down at his body, he realized that all the wounds he got were gone.

"Craig!"

"...Tweek?" Craig looked up and saw Tweek standing in front of him, tears were in the boy's eyes. "Tweek!" Craig ran towards him before hugging him. "Tweek! I'm so glad you're okay!" Craig hugged him tightly, but stopped. "Wait....I...I can touch you," Craig said when he realized that he can feel Tweek, he can touch him. "...Am...am I dead?" Craig asked.

Tweek smiled, "not yet...thank god I managed to stop you from going any further to the light," Tweek said.

"Then where am I?"

"I'm...not sure...I think we're in between spaces right now or something like that?" Tweek said. "All I know is...because of you...we managed to get rid of that bastard," Tweek said.

"Is he gone? Is he finally gone?" Craig asked.

Tweek smiled, "yes...he's gone...and will never come back to hurt anyone anymore. He's fine gone," Tweek said.

Craig closed his eyes, "thank god," Craig said.

"....But you know what that means...right?" Tweek said.

Craig opened his eyes and stared at him. His heart was heavy. "Tweek...I don't want you to go," Craig said.

"...I know...I don't want to leave you and everyone too..but...that world...there's nothing for me there anymore. There's no purpose for me to stay anymore. It's time I move on," Tweek said.

Craig shed a tear as he stared at the boy in front of him. "Then let me come with you!"

Tweek shook his head. "I won't tell you what to do...whether you live or die...but if you die...I can't promise you what will happen...I don't even know if we'll be together wherever we end up...but just know...if you die...you'll leave your friends and family."

"....The guys? My parents? My sister?"

Tweek nodded, "Craig...you still have so many things you need to do...don't drop it all for me. Don't leave your family and friends heartbroken. You need to stay here...you need to move on from me..." Tweek said.

Craig started to cry as he stared at him. "I will never forget you, Tweek. I'll always love you," Craig said as he held Tweek tightly.

Tweek smiled, "I love you too." Tweek tilted Craig's head until his lips touched his. The kiss was warm, soft, and amazing, just as how he imagined it to be. "I finally get to feel those lips of yours...and this will be the last time...fuck," Tweek sighed.

Craig stared at Tweek through glossy eyes as he finally let Tweek go. "I hope you're happy wherever you end up," Craig said.

Tweek smiled. "Have a good life, Craig Tucker, and thank you for being my friend."

The world around them started flickering. Tweek started to fade away right before Craig. Soon, it was black, Tweek was gone. Craig suddenly felt himself falling. He continued falling, but he didn't scream. His tears floated above him as he continued to fall.

He'll never forget Tweek Tweak.

When Craig woke up, he found himself in a hospital bed. He saw his mother, his father, sister, and his friends. They all smiled with tears in their eyes as they hugged Craig tightly.

"Oh my god! You're alive!" Clyde exclaimed.

"Oh thank god...thank god..." Mrs. Tucker exclaimed.

"We thought you left us," Token said.

"N-never s-scare us l-like that again!" Jimmy exclaimed, sniffling as tears fell form his face.

"....Sorry for scaring you like that you guys...I'm back," Craig smiled as he hugged everyone back, his tears would stop falling.

* * *

"OMG! This dress would look so hot on me!"

"Oh please honey, it'll only make you look fat...ter."

"Shut up, bitch," the girl laughed.

The two girls laughed as they continued looking around the store to find the perfect dress.

"Oh, how about this one?"

"How about this one for me?"

"...Those look awful on both of you."

The two girls turned their heads and glared at the young man behind the counter. The girls scoffed as they eyed the guy.

"As if you know anything about fashion when you're dressed up like that," one of the girls said.

"....Well I'll have you know that I'm the owner of this boutique," the young man said.

"Wait...you're the Craig Tucker!?"

"No way, he's more stylish!"

"Hm..." Craig grabbed his sketchbook before drawing up a quick sketch for the two girls. The girls stared at each other, but watched curiously, wondering what he was doing. Once Craig was finished, he showed the girls two sketches of two dresses. "Now these...these would look beautiful on you two."

"OMG! so chic!"

"So stylish!"

"So hot!" The two girls squealed!

"We'll take them!"

"Great, I'll have them made in five to seven days. I'll message you when they are done and ready to pick up," Craig said as he wrote down the order in his laptop. The girls nodded and quickly gave Craig their emails and phone numbers. Once the girls paid for the dressed, they started to leave. "Oh and another thing." The girls stopped. "If you criticize me and how I work...I won't hesitate to burn those dresses in front of you. So be careful the next time I see you," Craig said, venom dripped in his voice.

The girls squeaked and quickly nodded before leaving.

Craig let out a sigh and took out his phone. He made sure to write down in his calendar to work on the dresses. As Craig busied himself in cleaning up the store, he hears the door opening. He turned around and smiled when he saw his friends and his mother.

"Hey guys, hey mom," Craig said as he hugged his mom.

"Hey honey, how's work?"

"Doing fine, business is blooming and I got a lot of orders for custom dresses, so Clyde, you better help me sew some of these dresses up."

"You got it!" Clyde said.

"Which reminds me, how's your dad's shoe business going?" Token asked.

"Well ever since I convinced my dad to allow me to merge one of our stores with Craig's boutique, business has never been better! I get to meet so many girls!" Clyde said.

Craig sighed, "same old Clyde," Craig said. "So Toke, how's working at the hospital going?"

"It's hard work, but it's all worth it. After all...if we're still going to do some ghost hunting...might as well have someone that has medical training," Token smiled.

"Good idea, especially if we ever meet a serial killer again," Craig said.

"Oh don't talk about that, I nearly had a heart attack when I got a call from Clyde. Honestly, what you did was so idiotic and stupid!"

"I had to mom...I had to save Tweek," Craig said.

"Yes well I'm just glad it's all behind us and you all are going to play it safe from now on, right?" All four boys muttered incoherently, not really sure what to say. Mrs. Tucker frowned, "right!?"

"Yes mom, we'll play it safe from now on," Craig smiled.

"Good, if I get another phone call that one of you boys got hurt, whether it's a minor injury or not, I will make sure you stop this ghost hunting business from now on," Mrs. Tucker said.

"Don't worry mom, ghost hunting is suppose to be dangerous, we have been doing this for years now," Craig chuckled.

"Yep, we're professionals!" Clyde said.

"H-h-hey guys, look! S-s-someone wants us to get rid of a couple of g-g-ghosts in a s-s-strip club!" Jimmy exclaimed.

"Oh yeah!" Clyde grinned!"

"Ahem..." Mrs. Tucker cleared her throat as she frowned at the boys. "Professionals...huh?"

"Well...professionals is a term that we use...very loosely," Token said.

"Alright, it's time for you guys to leave, I got to clean the store," Craig sighed.

"Y-you're coming to m-m-my comedy act later, right?" Jimmy asked.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Craig smiled.

"Y-you're coming t-too, right M-Mrs. T-T-Tucker?"

"Of course dear, Tricia, my husband, and I are looking forward to it," Mrs. Tucker smiled.

"Sweet, I'l s-see you guys tonight! Bye!" Jimmy said.

"I got to go too, I got a date," Clyde smirked.

"It's not going to work, Clyde," Token said.

"Pff, what do you know?"

"For one thing, she only agreed after you mentioned that you run a shoe store, so that might be a hint," Token said.

"Well...er...fuck you," Clyde stuck his tongue out before leaving, "see ya guys!"

"I better leave too, got to write up a report. See you later, Craig."

"See ya," Craig waved his friends goodbye and let out a sigh.

"...You seem happy," Mrs. Tucker smiled.

"As if," Craig scoffed, "those guys can be a paint at times," Craig sighed.

"Yeah...but you love them," Mrs. Tucker smiled.

"...." Craig smiled.

"...You still think about that ghost friend of yours?"

Tweek looked at her, "...yeah...I do...but he's in a better place...probably with Martha...Maya...Madam Rouge...Sam...and all those other ghosts I befriended over the years. They're all in a better place now...they can finally rest in peace," Craig said.

"...That sounds nice," Mrs. Tucker smiled, "and to think...this entire time I thought you were talking to your imaginary friends...I would have never guessed you were actually talking to ghosts."

"I mean...what kind of child imagines an elderly woman, a woman with a noose around her neck, or a man that is missing a jaw?" Craig chuckled.

"Well you always were the imaginative type," Mrs. Tucker smiled. She stated to head for the door, "I'll be leaving. I'll see you tonight," Mrs. Tucker said.

"Okay mom, see you."

"...And Craig?"

"Hm?"

"I'm proud of you," Mrs. Tucker said.

Craig stood there, looking at her. His heart was racing as he smiled. "Thanks mom. I love you."

Mrs. Tucker smiled "I love you too, baby." Mrs. Tucker walked back to her son and kissed him on he forehead. She then waved Craig goodbye before leaving he store.

Craig let out a sigh, feeling satisfied with everything in his life. Craig grabbed the broom in the corner of the store and started sweeping the store, as he sweep, he suddenly felt  chill run down his spine and the lights started to flicker and everything was getting cold. Craig let out an annoyed sigh.

"Look pal, I don't know what you're doing or why you're here, but can you not? I need to close the store and I can't be bothered to help another ghost right now," Craig sighed.

"Well...aren't you being very rude to your guest?" A familiar voice made Craig froze. Craig slowly turned around until he saw the familiar face of someone he never thought he would see again. "Hey Craig."

Craig dropped the broom. "T-Tweek?" Craig walked over towards him, shocked. "How? I thought...I thought-"

"I thought so too...but after the big guy saw how miserable I was, he decided to assign me a new purpose down here...and well...here I am," Tweek said.

"So...you're back? For how long!?"

"Till you die," Tweek smiled.

"Say what now?" Craig asked.

"Yep, you can call me your honorary guardian angel...even though I'm still a ghost...not sure how this works really," Tweek laughed.

"It's just...I'm so...happy to see you again, Tweek," Craig said.

Tweek smiled, "me too," Tweek walked over towards Craig and smiled at him. "Oh, and I got some good news, I can now appear in front of your friends, so they can finally see me now," Tweek said.

"That's great," Craig smiled.

"And...I can help you guys with ghost hunting, it'll make the job much easier with two ghost seeing dudes," Tweek said.

"Great...but just know that our next job might involve a strip club," Craig said.

Tweek made a face, but shook it off. "Right...I'll keep that in mind," Tweek said.

"Anything else I should know now that you're back and will be around for awhile?" Craig said as he crossed his arms.

"Oh...well the big guy was so generous...that he allowed me to do this," Tweek grabbed Craig's face and placed his lips over his. Craig's eyes widened when he can actually feel Tweek's lips on his. Tweek pulled away, smirking. "Now that...that's going to be fun," Tweek said.

Craig blushed before pulling down his chullo hat and covering his face. "Oh Jesus, Tweek!" Craig blushed.

Tweek laughed and flew around Craig. "I love you, Craig."

Craig peeked at Tweek, still blushing. "L...love you too," Craig said shyly.

Tweek smiled, "now come on, let's tell the others that Tweek Tweak is back!" Tweek smirked. He grabbed Craig's hand and started guiding him out of the door.

"H-hold it! Can other people see you too? Is there a rule here!? I really don't want to freak people out when seeing a transparent boy that can flying! Tweek!"

Craig Tucker, a boy who realized his imaginary friends were ghosts. Tweek Tweak, a ghost that fell in love with a flesh bag. The two lived happily ever after together, and for Craig, he was glad that his favorite ghost was far from being an imaginary friend.

_**The End.** _


End file.
